Sunteți pe pagina 1din 183

Viewpoints Special Edition

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009:


Evolution of a Pivotal State
The Middle East Institute
Washington, DC
2 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Te mission of the Middle East Institute is to promote knowledge of the Middle East in Amer-
ica and strengthen understanding of the United States by the people and governments of the
region.
For more than 60 years, MEI has dealt with the momentous events in the Middle East from the birth of the state
of Israel to the invasion of Iraq. Today, MEI is a foremost authority on contemporary Middle East issues. It pro-
vides a vital forum for honest and open debate that attracts politicians, scholars, government ocials, and policy
experts from the US, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. MEI enjoys wide access to political and business leaders
in countries throughout the region. Along with information exchanges, facilities for research, objective analysis,
and thoughtful commentary, MEIs programs and publications help counter simplistic notions about the Middle
East and America. We are at the forefront of private sector public diplomacy. Viewpoints is another MEI service to
audiences interested in learning more about the complexities of issues aecting the Middle East and US relations
with the region. Te views expressed in these Viewpoints are those of the authors; the Middle East Institute does
not take positions on Middle East policy.
To learn more about the Middle East Institute, visit our website at http://www.mei.edu
Cover photos, clockwise from the top lef hand corner: ickr user uniquebuildings; ickr user Andr Gustavo; ickr user jonraw-
linson; fickr user Peter Baker; fickr user Puccaso; fickr user Puccaso; Saudi Aramco World; Saudi Aramco World.
Middle East Institute
3 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Viewpoints Special Edition
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009:
Evolution of a Pivotal State
4 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
The year 1979 was among the most tumultuous, and important, in the history of the modern Middle East. Te Middle
East Institute is marking the 30
th
anniversary of these events in 2009 by launching a year-long special series of our
acclaimed publication, Viewpoints, which oers perspectives on these events and the inuence that they continue to
exert on the region today. Each special issue of Viewpoints will combine the diverse commentaries of policymakers and
scholars from around the world with a robust complement of statistics, maps, and bibliographic information in order to
encourage and facilitate further research. Each special issue will be available, free of charge, on our website, www.mei.
edu.
February
Viewpoints: The Iranian Revolution
March
Viewpoints: The Egyptian-Israeli
Peace Treaty
July
Viewpoints: Zulfqar Ali Bhuttos
Fall and Pakistans New Direction
August
Viewpoints: Oil Shock
November
Viewpoints: The Seizure of the
Great Mosque
December
Viewpoints: The Soviet Invasion of
Afghanistan
Dont miss an issue!
Be sure to bookmark www.mei.edu today.
Viewpoints: 1979
5 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009:
Evolution of a Pivotal State
A Special Edition of Viewpoints
Introduction 7

I. Media, Culture, and Society
Te Rise of a Media Kingdom, by Noha Mellor 10
Diwaniyyas, Intellectual Salons, and the Limits of Civil Society,
by Toby Matthiesen 13
A Rentier Social Contract: Te Saudi Political Economy since 1979,
by Steen Hertog 16
Te Freedoms Saudi Women Really Want, by Natana J. DeLong-Bas 19
Obstacles to Equality for Saudi Women, by Eleanor Abdella Doumato 23
II. Religion, Politics, and the State
Tawhid or Jihad: What Wahhabism Is and Is Not, by David E. Long 28
Saudi Arabias Religious Counter-Terrorist Discourse, by Roel Meijer 32

Liberal Enclaves: A Royal Attempt to Bypass Clerical Power,
by Andrew Hammond 35

Te Neo-Reformists: A New Democratic Islamic Discourse, by Saud al-Sarhan 39
Saudi-Shiite Political Relations in the Kingdom, by Toby Jones 44
Reforming the Judiciary in Saudi Arabia, by Joseph A. Kchichian 47
Tribes and the Saudi Legal System: An Assessment of Coexistence,
by Sebastian Maisel 50
6 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
From Generation to Generation: Te Succession Problem in Saudi Arabia,
by Nabil Mouline 54

III. Regional and International Relations
Saudi Arabia: Victim or Hegemon? by George Jo 59

Saudi Arabia and Iran: Less Antagonism, More Pragmatism,
by Paul Aarts and Joris van Duijne 62

How Salasm Came to Yemen: An Unknown Legacy of
Juhayman al-Utaybi 30 Years On, by Laurent Bonnefoy 65

Saudi-Russian Relations: 1979-2009, by Mark N. Katz 68
Cooperation under the Radar: Te US-Saudi Arabian Joint Commission
for Economic Cooperation (JECOR), by Tomas W. Lippman 71

Saudi-American Relations, by F. Gregory Gause, III 75

Saudi Wahhabi Islam in the Service of Uncle Sam, by Askar H. Enazy 78

Te United States and Saudi Arabia: Challenges Ahead,
by Rachel Bronson 82
Maps 86

From the Pages of Te Middle East Journals Chronology:
Saudi Arabia, 1979 94
Statistics 103
Demographics 104
Economy 110
Energy 113
Gender 117
Selected Bibliography 118
7 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Introduction
Though its national origins date from the mid-18
th
century, the current (third) Kingdom of Saudi Ara-
bia is relatively new. Its establishment in 1932 marked the culmination of several decades of successful
military and political eorts led by the Kingdoms founder, Abd al-Aziz bin Abd al-Rahman Al Saud.
Popular misconceptions of Saudi Arabia abound. Tey are marked by static, sometimes distorted im-
ages of the country and its people: the varied Saudi landscape misrepresented in sharp dichotomous
snapshots of oil rigs and vast stretches of empty desert; the diverse Saudi population miscast either as
backward camel herders and desert dwellers or portly princes luxuriating in opulent palaces; and the
misidentication of Wahhabism and contemporary jihadism, and thus the mischaracterization of Sau-
dis as terrorists or as purveyors of terrorism.
Most people other than Saudis themselves are unaware of much less able to fathom the magnitude
of the changes that have occurred inside the Kingdom, and the stunning rapidity with which they have
occurred. Much of this change has taken place over the past three decades not all of it the handiwork
of Saudis themselves, and by no means all of it positive.
Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a population of more than 28 million, 82% of whom live in
urban areas. Te Kingdom dominates the Arabian Peninsula economically, politically, and militarily.
Te Saudi presence and inuence radiates across the region and throughout the world in the form of in-
vestment capital, media, foreign aid, the championing of Muslim causes, and the conduct of diplomacy.
Saudi Arabia, which possesses about 20% of the worlds petroleum reserves, is the largest petroleum
exporter and plays a leading role in OPEC.
Te breathtaking pace of Saudi Arabias modernization and ascent on the world stage has come at a cost.
It has unleashed social forces that cannot easily be controlled. And it has fuelled fears and grievances
that have proved impossible to ignore, yet dicult to manage.
Te year 1979 is an important marker. Te clutch of events that took place in the wider region during
that year the Iranian Revolution, the signing of the Camp David Treaty, the second oil shock, the
launching of General Zia ul-Haqs Islamization program in Pakistan, and the Soviet invasion of Af-
ghanistan profoundly shaped Saudi Arabias subsequent regional and international role, and fed back
into Saudi social and political relations in ways that continue to be felt.
Te year was not without momentous events within Saudi Arabias borders as well. On November 20,
8 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Introduction...
1979, Juhayman Sayf al-Utaybi and several hundred armed Salasts including Saudis, Egyptians, Kuwaitis, Yemenis,
and Iraqis seized the al-Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam, as thousands of wor-
shippers were gathering for the dawn prayer. Te same month, Shiite protests erupted in the oil-rich eastern region of
the country. Te disturbing simultaneity of these challenges to the legitimacy of the Saudi system of rule led, among
other things, to the restructuring of relations between the political leadership and the ulama and to the securitization
of the state.
Taken together, these events both inside and outside the Kingdom were harbingers of things to come of an economy
still heavily dependent on oil rents; a social contract anchored in lavish subsidies and welfare services that are increas-
ingly dicult to sustain; deeply conservative religio-cultural mores that cannot be insulated from the forces of global-
ization; and the vexing issues of managing domestic political dissent while maintaining a special relationship with the
United States in the face of a diuse radical Salast movement worldwide and the expansion of the Islamic Republic of
Irans regional power and inuence.
Tis collection of 21 essays, the fh of six special editions of MEI Viewpoints commemorating the momentous events
of 1979, seeks to shed light on some of the important developments in Saudi Arabias domestic and external aairs since
then.
9 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
I. Media, Culture, and Society
10 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Te Rise of a Media Kingdom
Noha Mellor
Noha Mellor is Senior Lec-
turer in Media & Cultural
Studies, School of Arts & So-
cial Sciences, Kingston Uni-
versity, London, UK.
Te views expressed in these Viewpoints are those of the authors; the Middle East Institute does not take positions on Middle East policy.
In 1965, public riots led by the austere Wahhabists broke out in Saudi Arabia in protest
of the introduction of television in the land that serves as the guardian of the two holy
cities, Mecca and Medina. No one then could ever imagine that afer only four decades,
Saudi media moguls and TV presenters would manage to control the Arab media scene
and become some of the most inuential media personalities in the region. Tis essay
reviews some of the important stages in the development of the Saudi media and its rise
from local ventures into a powerful media kingdom that controls most of the Arab TV
production catering to Arabs inside and outside the Middle East.
DEFENDING ISLAM
During the 1950s and 1960s, the Saudi rulers saw in mass communications a powerful
means to propagate Islamic preaching and to counterbalance the socialist Nasserist at-
tack on the Arab monarchies. Tis prompted the Saudi state to launch its Voice of Islam
radio broadcast as a counterbalance to the Egyptian Voice of Arabs broadcast. In 1965,
the Saudi government launched two TV stations from Jeddah and Riyadh. Although the
second channel was intended to target educated Saudi elites uent in English and French
as well as expatriates working inside the Kingdom, it has functioned as a bridge that con-
nects the expatriate community to Islamic preaching. Te media policy of the kingdom
at this time also reected this dedication to the spread of Islamic messages. Tus, the
Higher Committee of Information, established in 1977, had as its main responsibility
the drafing of formal information policies and guidelines that usually emphasized the
function of the media in spreading Islamic values and practices. Te Saudi ambition to
use mass media to propagate Islamic values found a new means of communication in
satellite transmission. So, in 1985, ArabSat was launched; and in the same year, the Saudi
government broadcast, for the rst time, the rites of Hajj. In 1990, the Saudi Kingdom
launched its rst satellite channels, broadcasting more than 100 hours a week, by renting
three satellite channels on ArabSat. Te aim was to consolidate an Islamic identity, hence
the abundance of religious programs. Another aim was to reect the Kingdoms plan to
modernize the country and highlight construction projects underway there.
A GLoBAL MEDIA KINGDoM
In the same way that poets in the pre-Islamic era were used as media channels to en-
hance their tribes reputation, each Saudi royal family member has established his own
11 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Mellor...
media channel to reect his image (e.g., liberal, moderate, and so on). In the print press, London in particular has been
the headquarters for a number of the so-called pan-Arab migr newspapers. Among these publications is Al-Sharq
al-Awsat, founded by two Saudi brothers, Hesham and Mohamed Hafez, who ed state regulations at home and bought
the British Central Press Photo in London. From there they issued al-Sharq al-Awsat, attempting to mirror the success
of the International Herald Tribune as an international newspaper. Other Saudi moguls followed suit, beginning with
the ARA Group, which launched MBC channels in London in 1991. Two years later, Dallah al-Baraka launched ART
channels. In 1994, the Al Mawared Company launched Orbit. Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abd al-Aziz, a nephew of
the Saudi King, has become known in world media through his business ventures, particularly his buyout of shares in
several media corporations, including News Corporation, Time Warner, LBC, and various Arabic newspapers. In 2003,
he launched his Rotana channels, beginning with Rotana Music, followed by Rotana Clip with SMS service for young
viewers, and Rotana Classic and Rotana Gulf for Gulf music.
THE KINGDoMS NEW LooK
As the entertainment channels and production companies are mostly owned by Gulf
business tycoons, there is now an openly announced strategy of promoting Gulf dia-
lects. Afer the dominance of the Egyptian dialect in the cultural eld for so many
decades, now Arab singers, particularly Lebanese stars, record songs in Gulf dialects to
gain access to the lucrative Saudi market. Saudi TV and radio presenters also have in-
creased in number in the satellite channels; one of them is Al-Arabiyas presenter, Turki
Al-Dakhil, who Rotana magazine readers voted the most popular Arab male presenter;
Good News TV magazine ranked him among the 50 most inuential TV gures in the
Arab world. Other names include Ali Al Aliyani, who made his fame as a presenter of
a youth show on LBC channel, and other Saudi talents such as Mona Seraj. New radio
stations such as MBC FM also introduced new young Saudi women presenters such as
Amal al-Harbi and Khadija al-Waal.
Even Saudi lm production has revived recently, following the move of Saudi Televi-
sion empires such as Rotana and ART to cinematic production. Tis comes afer more
than two decades of suppression by conservative Islamist groups who prohibited lm screenings to Saudi citizens. In
2005, the Kingdom saw the opening of the rst movie theatre in Riyadh, followed by the release of a couple of Saudi
lms with Saudi actors. Te rst Saudi production was Zelal Assamt (2006), followed by the lm Keif al Hal. Te con-
servative Kingdom launched the rst Saudi Film Festival in 2006, entitled Jeddah Visual Productions. A year later, the
Saudi Ministry of Culture kicked o a contest encouraging Saudi youths to enter the lm eld and form their own lm
society.
In 2008, Rotana produced the second feature lm, Menahi, which tells the story of a young Saudi man of Bedouin ori-
Tere is now an
openly announced
strategy of pro-
moting Gulf dia-
lects. Afer the
dominance of the
Egyptian dialect in
the cultural eld
for so many dec-
ades, now Arab
singers, particu-
larly Lebanese stars,
record songs in
Gulf dialects to gain
access to the lucra-
tive Saudi market.
12 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Mellor...
gin who travels to Dubai and faces a series of funny situations due to the dierence of lifestyle. Te lm sums up the
paradoxical situation of Saudi media professionals at the moment: torn between the conservative lifestyle inside the
Kingdom and the liberal environment of the Saudi-nanced transnational media outside the Kingdom. Te most recent
example was the Saudi Ministry of Informations decree imposing the national Abaya dress and full-head coverage on
all Saudi female presenters, which has driven many Saudi women media talents to ee to Dubai and Beirut freeing
themselves from the state restrictions at home and the zealots claim of being the only guardians of virtue.
Today, most of the so-called pan-Arab media outlets, whether satellite channels or newspapers, are in Saudi hands. Tis
has raised concerns that journalists might practice self-censorship in order to avoid conicts with the Saudi ruling fam-
ily that could jeopardize lucrative advertising contracts with Saudi corporations.
References
Al-Rasheed, Madawi (2005). Te Reform Dilemma in Saudi Arabia in the 21
st
Century. Beirut: Saqi (in Arabic).
Mellor, Noha (2008). Bedouinisation or liberalisation of culture? Te paradox in the Saudi monopoly of the Arab media.
In Al Rashid, Madawi (ed.) Kingdom Without Borders. London: Hurst & Company.
Mouad, Mohammed (2000). Studies in the Gulf Media. Cairo: Dar al-Kitab al-Hadith (in Arabic).
Tash, Adbulkader T.M. (1983). A Prole of Professional Journalists Working in the Saudi Arabian Daily Press. An unpub-
lished PhD dissertation. Southern Illinois University.
13 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Diwaniyyas, Intellectual Salons, and the Limits of Civil Society
Toby Matthiesen
Toby Matthiesen is writing a
PhD on Saudi Arabia at the
School of oriental and Af-
rican Studies (SoAS) of the
University of London. His ar-
ticles have been published in,
amongst others, Middle East
Report Online and Neue
Zrcher Zeitung.
In recent years, a number of discussion forums and intellectual salons have gained
popularity among Saudi intellectuals. Tese have been most popular in urban centers,
such as Riyadh and Jeddah, as well as among the Shiites in the Eastern Province. In some
cases, these gatherings act as a substitute for political parties, which are still banned in
Saudi Arabia. One of the reasons for the popularity of these forums is the absence of
other cultural activities. Yet, for many, the preferred meeting ground is still the diwan in
a private home. Although most of these meetings are for men only, women have begun
to organize their own forums. Te diwan is a civil society structure that respects local
traditions of consultation and takes place in a social space that is distinctive to the Gulf
countries. Te diwaniyyas of Saudi Arabia, which are ourishing, nonetheless operate
within a political environment that is narrowly circumscribed.
JEDDAH AND RIYADH
One of the most famous diwaniyyas in Jeddah is held weekly at the house of Muhammad
Said Tayyib. Tayyib is a liberal intellectual and businessman who spent several years in
prison for his political activities. In 2003, he was one of the key gures in an alliance of
liberals and Islamists in Saudi Arabia that called for gradual social and political reforms.
1

In his spacious living room, he presides over a diwaniyya of mostly other liberals from
Jeddah. Te group of regular attendees consists of merchants, academics, diplomats, poli-
ticians, and journalists. His diwaniyya has been going on for decades, although he had
been ordered to close it temporarily. Tis diwaniyya is peculiar because it is both a space
for people associated with the establishment and for more oppositional gures.
During a recent trip to Saudi Arabia, I was invited to join the discussions for a night. Ini-
tially, one would converse with ones neighbour until at some point in the evening, Mu-
hammed Said Tayyib or one of his close friends would bring up several topics for the
discussion. Apart from poetry, literature, and the economy, social and political matters
are on the top of the agenda. During my experience, a visiting member of the Majlis al-
Shura was being questioned by dierent people on topics ranging from waste disposal
to freedom of speech and political prisoners. Tereafer, a young journalist attacked the
editor of a major Saudi newspaper directly for not reporting a hunger strike of Saudi
1. Stphane Lacroix, Between Islamists and Liberals: Saudi Arabias New Islamo-liberal
Reformist Trend, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 58, No. 3 (2004), pp. 345-365, 355f.
14 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Matthiesen...
liberals in response to the arrest of Matrouk al-Faleh, a liberal Professor.
2

Similar discussion forums exist in Riyadh, such as the diwaniyya Rashid al-Mubarak and the Diwan al-Jasser. Here,
people sometimes deliver prepared speeches. In the capital, many more of these meetings exist, including those by intel-
lectuals from other regions of the country who have moved to Riyadh.
THE EASTErN ProVINCE
Probably the most active region in Saudi Arabia in terms of cultural forums and gath-
erings is the Eastern Province. Here, several Sunni businessmen organize diwaniyyas,
yet it is amongst the Shiite inhabitants of Qatif, Dammam, and al-Ahsa that these gath-
erings have gained wide popularity in the last couple of years. Tese large diwaniyyas
with scheduled lecture series have been named muntada (forum). Tey are distinct
from the diwaniyyas in other areas of Saudi Arabia or the other Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) states because they are not primarily a social gathering in private places
to exchange news and meet friends.
One of the rst forums was set up in 2000 by Jaafar al-Shayib, a former leader of the
main Shia opposition movement, the Reform Movement (Islahiyya). Te salon, which
is held every Tuesday and is therefore called muntada al-thulatha (Tuesday Forum), as-
sembles intellectuals from dierent political persuasions, although al-Shayibs political
allies are predominant. Te salon has become famous for not only discussing purely in-
tellectual topics but also topics such as social and political reform and the overcoming
of sectarianism. In addition, al-Shayeb invites many intellectuals from other regions
of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries to deliver speeches.
3
Tereafer, these speeches
have been posted online on the website of the forum, where they gained a wide read-
ership.
4

Najib al-Khunaizi, a secular intellectual and political activist, founded another famous monthly cultural salon, the Qatif
Cultural Diwaniyya (diwaniyya al-multaqa al-thaqa al-qatif), in 2004. On the homepage of the diwaniyya, the salon is
described as a Saudi civil society organization (ihda al-muassasat al-mujtama al-madani al-saudi) that aims to foster un-
derstanding of dialogue and freedom of thought and speech.
5
It hosts some well-known intellectuals from the region, and
is a meeting place for the liberals from the region. It is also one of the few gatherings that women are allowed to attend.
6

2. Interview with Muhammad Said Tayyib, Jeddah, November 1, 2008.
3. F.A. Ibrahim, Te Shiis of Saudi Arabia (London, 2006) 216f.
4. See http://www.thulatha.com.
5. See http://www.multaka.net.
6. Interview with Najib al-Khunaizi, Qatif, November 2008.
Probably the most
active region in Saudi
Arabia in terms of
cultural forums and
gatherings is the
Eastern Province.
Here, several Sunni
businessmen organ-
ize diwaniyyas, yet it
is amongst the Shiite
inhabitants of Qatif,
Dammam, and al-
Ahsa that these gath-
erings have gained
wide popularity in
the last couple of
years.
15 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Matthiesen...
Several other salons have opened in Qatif and the surrounding villages. In fact, almost
all of the larger Shiite villages and towns such as Sayhat, Awamiyya or Safwa now have
their own forums. Both Sunnis and Shiites in al-Ahsa started to hold similar meetings
in the last few years. Moreover, several forums for females have been organized by Shiite
women. Unlike their male counterparts, they are not allowed to post photos and videos
of their meetings on the internet and therefore only reach a limited audience. However,
they do invite speakers and discuss cultural and religious topics, although they are not
allowed to talk about political matters. One of the organizers of such an event reported
that afer holding a session on womens rights in 2006, all the forums in al-Ahsa both
male and female were closed down by the authorities.
7
In the meantime, some of
them have been allowed to reopen, such as the one organized by the Bu Khamsin, the prominent Shiite clerical and busi-
ness family.
8
Te most popular Sunni salon in al-Ahsa is the one by Shaykh Ahmad al-Mubarak.
A Shiite cultural journal describes these cultural forums as being amongst the most important cultural platforms in
Saudi Arabia, because they are a true mirror of the social street in the wake of the weakness or absence of other
platforms.
9
Te widespread emergence of these forums is striking and suggests that a new culture of dialogue and intel-
lectual debate is emerging in Saudi Arabia, something which is also proven by the opinion pages in Saudi newspapers.
Yet, these activities are ofen limited to what they are speech and to a narrow social base. Even Muhammad Said
Tayyib himself is aware of the limited impact of this salon: In the night afer the diwaniyya each one of the attendees
goes home, puts his head on the pillow and in the morning he wakes up, goes about his life as before and forgets about
everything until he comes back next week.
10

7. Interview with organizers of a cultural forum in al-Ahsa, November 2008.
8. Te homepage of the forum is http://www.bukhamsen.net.
9. Yusuf Ahmad al-Hasan, Ahammiyya al-muntadiyyat al-thaqayya al-mamlaka, in al-Waha, No. 43, p. 146.
10. Interview with Muhammad Said Tayyib, Jeddah, November 1, 2008.
Te widespread
emergence of these
forums is striking
and suggests that
a new culture of
dialogue and intel-
lectual debate is
emerging in Saudi
Arabia.
16 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
A Rentier Social Contract: Te Saudi Political Economy since 1979
Steen Hertog
Steen Hertog is Kuwait Pro-
fessor at the Chaire Moyen
orient Mediterrannee at Sci-
ences Po Paris and author of
Princes, Brokers, Bureau-
crats: Oil and State in Saudi
Arabia (Cornell University
Press, forthcoming).
The year 1979 was the last year of the pivotal decade in which the Saudi economy
took its modern shape; no other decade before or since has seen more change. Te pat-
terns of oil-driven politics that emerged at the time still dene the Kingdoms political
landscape today even if some of the players in the political game have subtly shifed
their roles.
Oil income increased 25 times from 1970 to 1979. Te ambitions of the Saudi state, the
all-dominant agent of change during the boom, grew in lockstep. Under the technocrat-
ic leadership of Crown Prince Fahd, the previously small and poor Saudi government
expanded rapidly and soon appeared to be everywhere. By 1979, when oil prices were
on the way to their second peak afer 1974, oil sector government together accounted
for 65% of Saudi economic activity and government drove 63% of total investment in
physical assets a rate otherwise only reached in socialist economies.
State expenditure continued to grow at a rapid pace into the 1980s, and the bureaucracy
rolled out public services at a record pace: Electricity generation increased from two
billion kilowatt hours per year in 1969 to 44 billion in 1984. Te supply of desalinated
water grew from practically nil to 350 million gallons per day over the same period. Te
total length of paved roads quadrupled.
Soon the states reach extended to virtually all Saudis, usually to their delight. Heavily
subsidized public utilities, state employment, and free education and healthcare guaran-
teed the comforts of middle class life for increasing numbers of nationals in a country
where less than a generation ago life for many had been a daily ght for survival.
Te paternal-distributional state not only brought material comfort, but also had a pro-
found eect on political life. It is no coincidence that the few oppositional stirrings the
Kingdom had witnessed in the 1960s largely stopped in the 1970s. Te omnipresent
state used its resources to buy o potential opponents and envelop society in ever-
expanding networks of formal and informal patronage. Patronage was not new to Saudi
politics, but never before had it reached all strata of society. By 1979, the rentier social
contract, in the making since the 1940s, had come to dene national politics.
Sectors of society that used to drive Saudi Arabias modest development became ap-
pendices of the state. Te Saudi merchant classes, which had once funded the countrys
17 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Hertog...
rst schools and power generators, and bankrolled the ruling family, were reduced to the role of rent-seekers or, at best,
service providers for the state. Although the nimbler among them amassed untold riches, they did so as intermediaries,
contract brokers, and rent-seekers in the orbit of the state, and ofen by the grace of the princes at the center of it.
Te merchants were looked upon benevolently, but played at best an auxiliary role in
the Saudi governments outsize development plans. Te largest industrial and infra-
structure projects in the 1970s were all controlled by the government itself, in the face
of a business sector that lacked expertise, managerial structures, and the capacity for
long-term planning. While remaining staunchly capitalist, the Saudi economic system
was utterly dominated by the state an oddity in the annals of international develop-
ment.
A closer look at Saudi economic development in the last decade shows that the 1970s
boom arguably constituted an exception in Saudi history itself. In 2009, afer six years
of the new oil boom, the Saudi economy is in many ways a more ordinary creature than
it was 30 years ago. Although the state remains oil-nanced and business cycles are
broadly linked to oil prices, the private sector plays a much more substantial role in development.
Having experienced 15 years of stagnation afer the oil price crash of the mid-1980s, the Saudi government has used its
post-2000 oil riches much more cautiously, saving a considerable portion of its additional oil income. While its coers
had been depleted in the period to 2000, and its bureaucracy stagnated, Saudi business had used the lean years for con-
solidation and the gradual accumulation of resources, which, dierent from the government, it was not forced to spend
but could continuously reinvest. While some business groups went under with the oil bust, others gradually diversied
and started serving private, rather than state, demand.
Te new boom has given renewed importance to government investment but dierent from last time, private capi-
tal formation remains one and a half times larger than that of government. Private business, moreover, is increasingly
involved in providing education, health care, and infrastructure through public-private partnerships in water, power,
and transport facilities. Despite record oil prices, government has not rescinded its commitment, rst articulated in the
austere 1990s, to delegating increasing responsibility to national business. Te private sector continues its return into
elds it used to dominate in the pre-oil era. At the same time, large Saudi groups have emerged as leading cross-border
investors in the Arab world and beyond, and are voicing their policy interests in Saudi Arabia in an increasingly orga-
nized fashion.
Does this mean the end of the rentier social contract? By itself, no: For all the strides of business, the economic situa-
tion of the average Saudi remains quite similar to that in 1979. State employment of nationals remains high by some
estimate twice as high as private employment public services remain subsidized, and networks of princely patronage
Te Saudi mer-
chant classes, which
had once funded
the countrys rst
schools and power
generators, and
bankrolled the rul-
ing family, were re-
duced to the role of
rent-seekers or, at
best, service provid-
ers for the state.
18 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Hertog...
are still an essential feature of daily life. Te government has backpedalled repeatedly on attempts to curb subsidies, and
has used the recent boom to increase social security payments and public wages.
Organized politics remains largely absent in Saudi Arabia, a country without a national working class, and with a middle
class that is largely state-dependent. While business has evolved, society at large remains locked in place. And to be sure,
the relative increases in private sector autonomy have not tempted any of the big Saudi capitalists to organize politically.
State-business negotiations remain strictly focused on business issues.
While the Saudi economy in a strict sense has changed a good deal, the Kingdoms political economy remains the same
in 2009 as it was in 1979. Neither government nor business seems to have much reason to complain about it.
19 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Te Freedoms Saudi Women Really Want
Natana J. DeLong-Bas
Natana J. DeLong-Bas is the
author of Wahhabi Islam:
From Revival and Reform to
Global Jihad (rev. ed, oxford
University Press, 2008) and
Jihad for Islam: Te Strug-
gle for the Future of Saudi
Arabia (oxford University
Press, forthcoming 2010), as
well as Deputy Editor for Te
Oxford Encyclopedia of the
Islamic World (oxford Uni-
versity Press, 2008) and ox-
ford Islamic Studies online
(launched 2008). Her current
research focuses on major
voices countering the jihadist
message throughout the Arab
world.
Ask the average Westerner about the status of women in Saudi Arabia and one is likely
to hear about veiling, strict gender segregation, and the ban on driving. Ask the average
Saudi woman about her top priorities and one is likely to hear about expanded job op-
portunities and training for women, reforms in the practice of family law, and protec-
tion from domestic violence and child abuse. For Saudi women, reforming cultural and
societal attitudes and stigmas against public discussion of social realities in order to
promote genuine and lasting long-term change has proven to be more important than
surface issues like dress and the right to drive.
In the immediate afermath of the cataclysmic events of 1979, Saudi Arabia experienced a
wave of religious conservatism that frequently targeted women as the culture bearers, cur-
tailing their freedom of movement and access to public space. Since the rst Gulf War of
1990-91, however, Saudi women have increasingly called for a return to the relative free-
doms and progress of the King Faysal era (1964-1975), in which women were encouraged
to seek an education and play a more prominent role in society. Over the past decade, the
media has helped to generate public awareness, and discussion of and support for reform
that is responsive to lived reality, rather than strict adherence to the legalities.
EMPLoyMENT
Womens right to engage in commercial and business transactions always has been part
of the Islamic tradition because the Prophet Muhammads rst wife, Khadija, was a busi-
nesswoman. Saudi women use Khadijas example to ground their requests for increased
job opportunities and training programs within the Islamic tradition. Te Chambers of
Commerce and Industry in various Saudi cities have been pivotal in providing support
and opportunities for women seeking to operate their own businesses, receive training,
and nd jobs. In addition, several Saudi women have been elected to the Boards of Di-
rectors of the Chambers, beginning in Jeddah, giving women the opportunity to both
participate in and contest elections. It is hoped that this practical experience in a eld that
is considered to be Islamically legitimate could transfer into other areas in the future.
Although opposition to womens education and employment existed in the past, today
an educated and employed daughter is generally considered a source of family pride and
honor, as well as a prize potential bride. A job with a steady income represents not only the
20 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
DeLong-Bas...
opportunity for personal achievement and satisfaction, but also security because, without an independent source of income,
a woman is placed in a permanent position of nancial vulnerability and dependence on her father, brothers, or husband.
In theory, Islamic law requires the husband/father, as the male guardian, to provide for
the material needs of the family, while any income earned by the wife/mother is her own.
Economic realities today, however, ofen render a wifes, and sometimes even a daughters,
income critical to the household budget. Rising social preference has been expressed for
brides with jobs and incomes, despite the remaining cultural expectation for marriage
and motherhood as a womans primary role. In some cases, daughters have led lawsuits
against fathers who have either refused to allow them to marry in order to retain control
over their income or who have insisted that he continue to receive their income afer
marriage. Some judges have intervened to grant daughters permission to marry.
In the past, women were limited to working in elds deemed suitable for their nature,
such as medicine, charity work, and education. However, particularly since King Abdul-
lahs succession in 2005, other elds traditionally reserved for men, such as engineering,
have been opened to women. An industrial city for women has been established outside
of Jeddah to encourage women to invest and work in manufacturing, all while helping to
diversify the Saudi economy. Saudization of certain jobs for women also has been leg-
islated and attempted with mixed success, as in the case of requiring female salespersons for lingerie and training Saudi
women as housemaids. In these cases, the jobs already exist. Te challenge lies in nding Saudi women who are trained
and willing to do them, as well as in creating a social and cultural environment that accepts women working in these
jobs. Given the presence of more than 1.5 million foreign female domestic servants in Saudi Arabia, some believe that
Saudization of the domestic servant industry is critical to reducing foreign remittances, dependence on foreign labor, and
resolving the high rates of unemployment among Saudi women. However, major challenges remain, including overcom-
ing social stigmas against blue collar work, maintaining gender segregation, and resolving transportation issues, such as
by providing private company transportation or developing a national public transportation system. At present, working
women remain dependent on either male family members or a hired driver to get them to work and back. In addition,
like their Western counterparts, Saudi women struggle with the balance between childcare, caring for elderly parents and
in-laws, and other family and home responsibilities versus job requirements.
FAMILy LAW
Saudi society remains a religiously and socially conservative society in which the family is the central unit. Islamic law
emphasizes the integrity of the family unit through regulations on marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance.
Under Islamic law, marriage is a contract that is negotiated and agreed upon by the groom and the brides legal guard-
ian, typically her father. Although the brides consent is required, such consent may be silent. In the case of a minor,
In some cases,
daughters have led
lawsuits against
fathers who have
either refused to al-
low them to marry
in order to retain
control over their
income or who
have insisted that
he continue to re-
ceive their income
afer marriage.
Some judges have
intervened to grant
daughters permis-
sion to marry.
21 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
DeLong-Bas...
the guardians consent renders the marriage valid, while the bride must wait until she reaches her majority to object. In
theory, the guardian is expected to have his wards best interests at heart. In practice, this is not always the case.
In recent years, the media has given signicant coverage to cases involving either very
young brides (as young as eight years old) or wide age disparities between the spouses
(the most extreme case being a ten-year-old girl who was married to an 80-year-old
man) in order to bring the issue to public attention and to call for adherence to interna-
tional treaties on human rights, particularly childrens rights (dened as those under the
age of 18), to which the Kingdom is a signatory. Some, including members of the Majlis
al-Shura and Saudi human rights activists, are calling for a minimum legal age for mar-
riage. Tose who resist such calls do so under the cloak of remaining faithful to Islamic
principles and to Sharia, citing the example of the Prophets consummation of his mar-
riage to Aisha when she was nine years old, which they believe makes the legality of the
marriage clear, regardless of the potential negative impact on the girl. In response to
concerns, the Ministry of Health appointed a special committee to investigate marriages
of underage girls. Te committee concluded that these girls experience deep health, psychological, and social harms, sug-
gesting that the practice should be banned to prevent harm to the brides. However, the study has not yet had an impact
on the legal system. In some cases, mothers have gone to court to try to have such marriages annulled. Not all have been
successful, although some have been able to obtain court assistance in procuring divorces for their daughters.
Under Islamic law, a husband can divorce his wife for any or no reason. Because the husbands nancial obligation to-
ward his ex-wife extends only through her waiting period following divorce (about three months) or while she is preg-
nant or breastfeeding, without regard to the length of the marriage or the wifes contributions to it or his career, divorce
means not only loss of the womans nancial provider, but also loss of access to the marital home. Divorced women are
either returned to their families or are lef to fend for themselves a dicult task without a male guardian. In such
cases, having a job can mean the dierence between poverty or dependence and independent survival.
In the event of divorce, the father automatically gains custody of boys over the age of ve and girls over the age of seven.
Te automatic legal assignment of custody to the father has been challenged in many ways in recent years. Circum-
stances such as drug and alcohol use and abuse by the father, child abuse, and even the presence of satellite television in
the fathers home have successfully been used in court as grounds for granting custody to the mother. Although fathers
attempting to retain custody appeal to Islamic law, mothers seeking to gain custody do so as well, noting both religious
and social expectations that a womans most important objective is to be a good mother and that Islamic law at its heart
is designed to protect women and children.
Islamic inheritance law is very specic so that inheritance disputes should not exist. Nevertheless, in practice, women
are ofen pressured by male family members to relinquish their inheritance claims in favor of their brothers, ostensibly
Circumstances such
as drug and alcohol
use and abuse by the
father, child abuse,
and even the pres-
ence of satellite tele-
vision in the fathers
home have success-
fully been used in
court as grounds for
granting custody to
the mother.
22 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
DeLong-Bas...
because males, as the theoretical providers, have greater need for it. Some women successfully seek redress in the courts,
but some are essentially held hostage by their families until they agree to relinquish their claims. In many cases, the
courts have proven reluctant to interfere in what are considered to be private family matters, despite the clear regula-
tions for inheritance outlined in the Quran.
DoMESTIC VIoLENCE
Over the past decade, the Saudi media has begun comprehensive reporting of cases of
domestic violence and spousal and child abuse, reecting not only a greater openness
of the press in discussing what previously were considered to be private family matters,
but also a greater willingness within Saudi society to recognize that there are problems
that need to be acknowledged and addressed. It remains unclear whether the apparent
proliferation of stories is due to greater willingness to report such cases or to a potential
rise in such incidents, as there is no past database for comparison.
Media willingness to seriously engage the issue began with the 2004 case of television personality Rania al-Baz, who
was disgured by a severe beating inicted by her husband. Images of al-Bazs beaten face on television sparked national
debates about the realities of spouse abuse, shifing the issue from behind closed doors to the public realm. Similarly,
the case of nine-year-old Ghosun, who was abused and beaten to death by her father and stepmother, opened the door
to public awareness and debate about child abuse, how to recognize it, and how to prevent it.
At the ocial institutional level, King Abdullah founded the National Family Safety Program in November 2005 to cre-
ate public awareness of and to prevent domestic and child abuse, the rst step in comprehensively addressing the prob-
lem. Several shelters for victims have been established. Te National Human Rights Association continues to work with
authorities on a law to criminalize violence against women and children. Much work remains to be done, particularly
in terms of coordination between ocial institutions (e.g., schools, hospitals, and the police), as well as in prevention
and information gathering. Works also remains to be done with respect to automatically granting custody to the non-
abusive parent (typically the mother) in cases of divorced parents.. However, public outrage over domestic and child
abuse whether physical, psychological, or sexual has kept the issue in the forefront, ofen resulting in harsh penal-
ties, including death, for the perpetrators.
CoNCLUSIoN
Although much progress has been made in terms of public awareness of issues critical to the safety, wellbeing, and advance-
ment of Saudi women, genuine reform remains a work in progress. What is encouraging is to see how much progress has
been made both ocially and at the level of public opinion in generating the collective will for change as a long-term goal.
Although much
progress has been
made in terms of
public awareness of
issues critical to the
safety, wellbeing,
and advancement of
Saudi women, genu-
ine reform remains
a work in progress.
23 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Obstacles to Equality for Saudi Women
Eleanor Abdella Doumato
Dr. Eleanor Abdella Douma-
to writes on Islamic educa-
tion, gender, and the Gulf re-
gion. Her most recent book is
Teaching Islam: Textbooks
and Religion in the Middle
East, with Gregory Starrett.
It was in the summer of 1979 that Islam in Saudi Arabia became all about women. At
the urging of Abd al-Aziz bin Baz, then chair of the Department of Religious Guidance,
Legal Rulings, and Propagation of the Faith, Interior Minister Prince Nayf sent a letter
to government oces asking for cooperation in curbing practices oensive to Islamic
principles. At the top of the list of condemnable behaviors were unsuitably dressed for-
eign women shopping or eating out in public. Lower down were complaints about wear-
ing crosses, foreign names on shops that played Western music, and dog food displayed
on grocery store shelves, while at the bottom was the problem of Muslims loitering
outside mosques when they ought to be praying.
1

Resistance to the overwhelming presence of foreigners, especially foreign women, was
already well documented months before Juhaymans November 1979 assault at the
Grand Mosque in Mecca. Te director of the Jeddah branch of the Committee for the
Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, for example, addressed a polite message
for distribution among foreign companies, asking our brothers in humanity residing
in this country to observe that ladies should not expose their legs or arms or bosom
or hair and refrain from wearing clothes that are too thin or tight, men must not wear
shorts, and both must avoid public displays of aection.
2

Taking aim at the behavior of outsiders was explicitly intended by leaders within the
religious establishment to protect society from the slippery slope of blind imitation,
imitating, in particular, the habits of Western women.
3
Teir fear of contamination must
have struck a cord with society at large, because in the afermath of the mosque assault,
Saudi society turned inward. Saudi women who had never before covered their faces be-
gan proudly wearing the niqab, and the era of black gloves, thick stockings, no-nonsense
abayas, and womens prayer circles was launched. Saudi women removed themselves
from what was then the center of Riyadh social life for foreigners, the International
Womens Club, and women were forcefully banned from hotel swimming pools and
1. Western Customs as Target: City Clean-up action expected, Arab News, July 2, 1979. Te
Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice subsequently published a
pamphlet on proper behavior in the Kingdom, translated into English, French, Urdu and
Indonesian, that emphasized the revealing clothing of foreign women which would be a
temptation. Revealing Dresses Prohibited, Arab News, August 2, 1979.
2. Haiat al-Amr bil Maruf, Guidelines to our Brothers in Humanity about Proper Dress and
Behavior in Saudi Arabia, Circular # 1039, July 25, 1979.
3. Abd allah ibn Muhammad Al-Dubaykhi, General Supervisor, Eastern Branch, Committee
for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Circular #178/6T/1229/1, September
13, 1982.
24 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Doumato...
disappeared as television news announcers. Beauty salons were closed, and eventually, all the international schools were
compelled to refuse admission to Muslim children.
As the wagons circled around Saudi culture, separation of the sexes and control of
women by their guardians blossomed over the next several years into key tangible in-
dicators of what it means to be Muslim, and the Saudi political leadership got behind
the task of enforcement. King Fahd, responding to complaints about applications for
women to work in oces, sent out a widely-published circular reminding Saudi and
foreign businesses that no women would be allowed to work in any establishment,
public or private, where they may come in contact with men. At the same time, a list of
instructions for keeping men and women separated from each other in the recreational
facilities of housing compounds was axed to passports of visa-seekers at Saudi Em-
bassies and Consulates. By 1983 the Saudi-style abaya, which until then had neither
been worn by foreign women, nor expected of them, became de rigueur amongst the
newest crop of Western wives and Fillipino domestic helpers entering the Kingdom.
For the regime, pandering to conservative xenophobia was not merely the path of least resistance, but the only course
of action that made sense. Among even the most liberal of Saudis, the dislocations brought by development were a
source of discomfort, at best, while the Arabian Peninsula had caught the winds of resurgent Muslim identity that were
sweeping across the entire region in the wake of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Besides, the Saudis had already set out
to claim leadership of world-wide Islam, but standing as they did Wahhabism, which was hostile to the veneration of
saints, pilgrimage processions, non-Muslims, Shia, and Muslim minorities in general, and having shown themselves
incapable of protecting the Muslim Holy Places, getting their own religious house in order became an imperative. And
so the Saudis tried to seal the connection between themselves as rulers and adherence to a one true Islam, rst through
their new mass education system, which placed religious education as the most important subject in the curriculum,
and second, by expanding their bureaucracy of religious functionaries empowered to teach, issue religious rulings, con-
trol girls education, impose legal judgments, and force compliance in personal behaviors.
Tirty years later, with minor exceptions, regulations aecting women that hardened during the post-Juhayman era are
still in place, but they apply to a less-compliant female population whose experience is far dierent from their moth-
ers and grandmothers. Today women are educated to a level equal and arguably better than their male counterparts.
Fify-eight percent of all higher education students are women, if teachers colleges are included, 79% of PhDs granted
in the Kingdom have been awarded to women, and 40% of all physicians with Saudi nationality are women. Yet, women
cannot compete on a level playing eld with men when it comes to jobs. Tough women of accomplishment can be
found in every eld of endeavor, including the sciences and most recently law, Saudi Arabia has the lowest percentage
of women in the workforce anywhere in the world, and 84% of women who are employed work in the countrys bloated,
sex-segregated education system.
Tirty years later,
with minor excep-
tions, regulations
aecting women
that hardened dur-
ing the post-Juhay-
man era are still
in place, but they
apply to a less-com-
pliant female popu-
lation whose experi-
ence is far dierent
from their mothers
and grandmothers.
25 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Doumato...
Despite their education and sometimes even economic independence women are legally treated as minors. Wom-
en are still not allowed to drive, though King Abdullah once oered words of assurance that they should be. Nor are
they allowed to travel internationally, keep a job, obtain medical services, go to court, or marry without their guard-
ians permission. Tey are not included as voters in municipal elections. No legal mechanisms are in place to protect
women from domestic violence perpetrated by a guardian, although an independent, licensed human rights society is
addressing the problem. In 2008 women were granted access to an individual state-issued ID card without a guardians
permission, but as yet the card has had limited purchase. Public space and public celebrations belong to men; womens
attendance is viewed as incidental, and their admission conned to discrete pre-set hours. Uncodied Islamic family
law, whimsically adjudicated, rules the fate of women in divorce, inheritance and custody cases. When the rights of
women in all of the GCC countries are compared, the largest and wealthiest country comes up dead last.
How can this paradox be explained? Tere are two separate, but interrelated answers.
Te rst is the successful propagation of the Saudi, post-development, women-centered
version of Islam and the lack of freedom to talk about it. Organizations must be li-
censed by the government, and very few advocacy groups are permitted, while those in
the media practice self-censorship or are censored. Te threat of arrest silences liberal
reformers who would be natural advocates for womens interests. At the same time, the
Kingdoms political culture, tied as it is to the legitimacy of the regime, demands genu-
ection in the direction of Islam as a religion with something to say about every aspect
of life, so that one must profess religious values in the abstract before one can address
the laws and regulatory systems that claim to reect those values. Te reformer can-
not say that a woman must not be denied medical care absent her guardians approval
because she could die. Te reformer has to rst agree that men have the prerogative to control their wives (or protect
them, depending on ones point of view) and only then can he argue against the logical extension of this prerogative ad
absurdum: a hospital regulation denying emergency surgery to a wife whose husband is unavailable to consent to her
treatment. In other words, the reformer has to undermine his own argument before he can make it.
Te second reason is the impact of sex-segregation on womens earning capacity. Unemployment is a perpetual prob-
lem in Saudi Arabia, for men as well as for women, even as an army of foreign workers increases in number from year to
year. As long as sex-segregation remains a cornerstone of the Saudis interpretation of Islam, the options open to women
are conned largely to the public sector, and primarily to education and health care. Te Saudis continue to expand the
public sector, but with 121,000 women graduating from secondary schools and 44,000 from colleges and universities
every year, there is no possibility that enough job options can be created. As for the private sector, 86.7% of jobs are
lled by foreigners, and with good reason: salaries are lower for foreigners than for Saudis, and foreigners are not en-
titled to the generous benets available to Saudis, such as long, paid maternity leave and time-outs during the work day
for nursing. With the rising political inuence of the merchant class, who are no longer as dependent on government
contracts, the rulers are unable to put policies in place that might undermine private sector prots in the name of full
As long as sex-seg-
regation remains a
cornerstone of the
Saudis interpreta-
tion of Islam, the
options open to
women are conned
largely to the public
sector, and primari-
ly to education and
health care.
26 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Doumato...
employment. And, when it comes to women, why would they want to? Te failure of job-creation for women, shelved
under the category of sacrices nobly paid in the service of religious values, serves the regimes legitimacy interests as
well as the economic interests of the private sector.
Te obstacles to equality women face today are not the product of the events of 1979, although these events added
urgency to the institutionalization of Islam by the state. Islam became centered on women during that period for the
same reasons women were being hoisted on the ag of culture all over the Muslim world, but what sets Saudi Arabia
apart from all the other Gulf countries today is that the Saudi rulers still need women to dene who they are, and they
just cant let go.
27 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
II. Religion, Politics, and the State
28 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Tawhid or Jihad: What Wahhabism Is and Is Not
David E. Long
Dr. David E. Long is a retired
US Foreign Service ofcer,
a teacher, author, and a spe-
cialist on Saudi Arabia and
the Gulf and on internation-
al terrorism.
Wahhabism was rst introduced in the central Arabian region of Najd in the mid-
18
th
century by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (c. 1703-c. 1792). Since then,
it has been one of the most maligned of any religious reform movement in modern
history. Tat in itself is not so extraordinary. Wahhabism is essentially a puritanical, fun-
damentalist Islamic reform movement calling for renewal of the faith as originally laid
out in the Quran and the Sunna, the inspired traditions of the Prophet Muhammad and
his early converts. Reform movements advocating major doctrinal changes are always
likely to be threatening to those who resist any change of the existing status quo.
In addition, over the years Wahhabism has acquired a political dimension that has been
threatening to a broad spectrum of people. In order to understand what Wahhabism
is and is not, therefore, one must look both at what it actually advocates as a religious
reform movement and what political implications have evolved since its founding.

WAHHABISM AS A rELIGIoUS rEForM MoVEMENT
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab was a scholar of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence the
most conservative of the Sunni schools, particularly on family law and was greatly
inuenced by the fundamentalist works of an earlier Hanbali scholar, Taqi al-Din ibn
Taymiyya (b. 1263). Ibn Taymiyya preached unwavering adherence to the Hanbali view
that the only true Islamic doctrine was based on two of the recognized sources of Is-
lamic law, the Quran and the Sunna.
1
A major precept of Wahhabism, therefore, was
rejection of any religious belief or practice not based on those two sources, which he
considered a heretical innovation (bida). For example, he condemned intercessional
prayers (tawassul) to Muslim saints and viewed pilgrimages to their tombs as heresy. He
preached that the only valid intercession was to the one true God.
Te doctrine of Tawhid, or monotheism, is the basic tenet of Islam, expressed in the
Shahada, or profession of faith: Tere is no god but God and Muhammad is the mes-
senger of God. It is thus the basic focus of Wahhabism. Te term Tawhid is derived
from the Arabic word wahid, meaning one.
Te centrality of Tawhid in Wahhabism led its followers to call themselves Muwahhi-
1. Tere are four recognized Sunni schools (s. madhhab, pl. madhhahib), Hana, Shafai,
Maliki and Hanbali, and three Shia schools, Jafari, Zaydi, and Ismaili.
29 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Long...
din, or Unitarians. Tey rejected the term Wahhabism, coined by the movements adversaries, as a derogatory reference
to his founders. Muwahhidin, on the other hand, considered the term to be heretical as a sign of deifying Ibn Abd al-
Wahhab and thus denigrating the omnipotence of God.
In addition to the Quran and the Sunna, other sources include the consensus (ijma) of the Muslim community, and
some schools recognize using analogies (qiyas) and independent reasoning (ijtihad). By Ibn Wahhabs time, many Sunni
legal scholars had abandoned ijtihad, but the Shaykh himself held the view that because the Quran and the Sunna were
the only immutable sources, even the legal interpretations of the accepted schools of Islamic jurisprudence, including
the Hanbali school, were subject to reexamination based on those sources.
As a fundamentalist, Ibn Wahhab subscribed to the classical Islamic interpretation of
jihad that included Quranic verses supporting holy war, or Jihad of the Sword. But
like many Arabic terms, jihad has multiple shades of meaning. Ibn Abd al-Wahhabs
teachings concentrated more on the broader connotation, the obligation of all Muslims
to uphold virtue and oppose evil in their personal as well as corporate lives. Tawhid, not
militant Jihad, was the main focus of Ibn Abd al-Wahhabs call for reform.
2

In short, Wahhabism is about the revival of the fundamental doctrines of Islam as set
forth in the Quran and Sunna, and about the rejection of heretical innovations that
had crept into Islam since the time of the Prophet Muhammad. Its founder, Ibn Abd
al-Wahhab, was a religious reformer, not a political ideologue.
WAHHABISM AS PoLITICAL IDEoLoGy
Although its religious content has not changed since its inception, political implications of Wahhabism were present
from the start. In the 18
th
century Najdi, many political leaders found Ibn Abd al-Wahhabs vision appealing as a means
of uniting the constantly warring Najdi tribes into a single Muslim community (umma). For the Najdi tribesmen who
engaged in tribal warfare as a way of life, Wahhabism gave traditional warfare a higher moral purpose and justica-
tion.
Te initial catalyst in adopting Wahhabism as a political ideology was an early follower of the reform movement, Mu-
hammad ibn Saud, the amir of the small, isolated Najdi principality of Diriyyah and the founder of the Al Saud (House
of Saud), still the ruling house of Saudi Arabia. Under him, Wahhabism became the vehicle for legitimizing the Al
Saud regime. From that day to this, it has been the political ideology of the Saudi state. Te descendents of Ibn Abd
al-Wahhab became known as Al al-Shaykh (House of the Shaykh) and remain the most prominent family in the Saudi
2. See Chapter 5, Jihad: Call to Islam or Call to Violence, in Natana DeLong-Bas, Wahhabi Islam: From Revival to Global
Jihad, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).
In the 18
th
cen-
tury Najdi, many
political leaders
found Ibn Abd al-
Wahhabs vision ap-
pealing as a means
of uniting the con-
stantly warring
Najdi tribes into a
single Muslim com-
munity (umma).
30 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Long...
religious establishment. Te relationship between these two families has been in eect a pact joining the secular and
spiritual aspects of Saudi governance.
By the early 19
th
century, the Al Saud had expanded their rule over much of Arabia. But
the regime was overthrown in 1818, regained power, and in 1891 was again overthrown
and went into exile in Kuwait. In 1901, Abd al-Aziz bin Abd al-Rahman Al Saud set
out to regain the Al Saud patrimony under the banner of Wahhabism. Gathering loyal
Wahhabi tribal warriors along the way, he retook Riyadh in 1902. It took two decades
for him to defeat the Al Rashid, however; in 1921 the Ikhwan, as he called his Wahhabi
tribal warriors, nally captured the Rashidi capital, al-Hail.
Abd al-Aziz went on to reconquer the Hijaz, and afer formally annexing it in 1926, he
took the title of King. He then demobilized the Ikhwan, settling them in agricultural
communes. Many of the tribal warriors were not willing to accept civilian life, however, and rebelled against him. Tey
were defeated at the battle of Sibila in 1929, the last Bedouin battle in history. Tereafer, Saudi Arabia went without a
standing army until afer World War II.
3

In 1932, Abd al-Aziz renamed the country the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since then its history has been one of evolu-
tion from the former small Najdi principality to a modern nation-state and leading oil power. Te era of Saudi tribal
warfare had come to an end. But Wahhabism remained the political ideology of the Al Saud regime.
As a part of its concern for the welfare of the Muslim world, the Saudi regime has allocated a signicant amount of its
oil revenues to building Islamic schools and mosques throughout the Muslim world. During the Cold War, few objec-
tions were made to these Islamic foreign aid projects. Saudi Wahhabism was viewed as an ideological ally against Com-
munism or else ignored it entirely. It was only afer the Cold War ended and jihadist terrorism began to expand that the
Islamic schools and mosques were linked by critics to teaching jihadist terrorism.
LINKING WAHHABISM AND CoNTEMPorAry JIHADIST TErrorISM
As noted, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab was a religious reformer, not a political ideologue. Te most inuential apologist of
modern Jihadist terrorism was an Egyptian intellectual and member of the militant Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyid Qutb
(1906-1966). Qutbs advocacy of global holy war against all presumed enemies of Islam has had a far greater inuence
on present day Jihadist terrorists, including Usama bin Ladin, than have the writings of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Te ad-
herents of Qutbs teachings on contemporary global Jihadism (whether they have read his works or not) are mujahidin
(jihadist warriors). By contrast, those who adhere to the teachings of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab on Tawhid are muwahhidin.
4

3. In the latter 1930s, King Abd al-Aziz recalled tribal levies in a brief war with Yemen, and ended up annexing Asir province,
located next to Yemen on the Red Sea, and Najran province, formerly a part of Yemen located further inland.
4. For an in-depth analysis contrasting the Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and Sayyid Qutb, see Long-Bas, Jihad: Call to
During the Cold
War, few objections
were made to these
Islamic foreign
aid projects. Saudi
Wahhabism was
viewed as an ideo-
logical ally against
Communism or else
ignored it entirely.
31 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Long...
Even the writings of Qutb, however, do not adequately answer the question of why people are motivated to commit ter-
rorist acts. Te degree of hostility required to predispose someone to want to engage in lethal violence cannot be taught
or learned from the spoken or written word.
What motivates a person to engage in terrorist activity in the name of any militant ideological doctrine, religious or sec-
ular, is not the doctrine itself but pre-existing hostility in a stressful world. Tere are certainly rebrand Wahhabis who
adhere to and encourage contemporary jihadist terrorism, but their hostility does not emanate from the doctrines of the
fundamentalist religious reform movement of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Moreover, most contemporary jihadist terrorists are
not adherents of Wahhabism. Te two categories, Wahhabism and contemporary jihadism, are not synonymous.
Islam or Call to Violence, pp. 273-274.
32 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Saudi Arabias Religious Counter-Terrorist Discourse
Roel Meijer
Roel Meijer teaches Middle
Eastern history at Radboud
University, Nijmegen and is
Senior Research Fellow at
Clingendael, Te Hague. His
latest edited volume is Glob-
al Salasm: Islams New Re-
ligious Movement (Hurst/
Columbia UP, 2009).
Saudi Arabias recent rehabilitation programs for terrorists have attracted much atten-
tion and in general have been profusely praised as proof of the Saudis vigorous eorts
to repress terrorism. In fact, Saudi Arabias tradition of countering terrorism goes back
to the founding of the Saudi state by Ibn Abd al-Aziz Saud. Known as the struggle
against extremism (ghuluw), Saudi eorts to counter terrorism emerged for the rst
time in response to the ikhwan revolt in 1927-30. Tis tradition was resurrected fol-
lowing the occupation of the Grand Mosque in Mecca by Juhayman al-Utaybi and his
group in 1979. Since the attacks by extremists in 2003, it has been rehashed by the
Advisory Committees, which have led the rehabilitation programs in the prisons. More
recently, there has been a massive campaign for intellectual security (al-aman al-kri),
based on the same discourse.
In a sense, the West was wrong when it accused Saudi Wahhabis of not doing enough
to combat terrorism. On the other hand, the contention that Wahhabism or Salasm is
part of the problem seems correct. It remains to be seen if the Saudi counter-discourse
can eectively ght its inner demons with basically the same religious reasoning on
which radical currents draw their justication for revolt and violence. Te recent attacks
on the Deputy Minister of Interior Muhammad ibn Nayif, and the continual round-ups
of new bands of extremists, seem to suggest that the problem has not been laid to rest.
Te basic problem is that Saudi Arabia has been built on doctrines that can be given
a radical interpretation. Concepts such as wala wa al-bara (loyalty to Muslims and
disavowal of non-Muslims or Muslims who are regarded as incorrect), jihad against
Muslims who do not adhere to the Wahhabi concept of Islam, and a strict belief in
tawhid (monotheism) and the rejection of all forms of idolatry, such as the veneration
of saints, are generally regarded as extremist by non-Sala currents. Together with the
general Islamic doctrine of the condemnation of injustice (zulm), these concepts have
a mobilizing potential against authorities when they do not adhere to their own strict
doctrine. Te thin line between radicalism and moderation is only barely contained by
the doctrine of wali al-amr, obedience to the ruler whatever the nature of his political
rule. Te argument that division (tna) is worse than tyranny (zulm) is not very con-
vincing for real zealots.
During the past two centuries, these two contradictory doctrines have held each other
in balance. While the Saudi rulers tried to contain, regulate, and mobilize the powerful
33 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Meijer...
forces it unleashed to gain political power, it was dicult for the zealots to understand that in the end, pragmatic and
self-serving objectives prevailed over the doctrine of tawhid to which the ruler also should be subject and on which the
whole power of the state was based. Caught in the middle, the ulama might be able to sympathize with the wayward
radicals who were willing to sacrice themselves for higher goals; however, ultimately they knuckled down to the pow-
ers that be, aware of their own interests.
In the end, this alliance has led to a host of interrelated concepts that are meant to re-
strain Wahhabisms politically dangerous dimension. Tat the ulama play a major role
in this task automatically explains why the Saudi war on terrorism is not just a war of
ideas but a battle of religious concepts. Central to it is extremism (ghuluw) a term
that has a long history and is preferred to terrorism, which is regarded as a Western,
alien term that fails to capture the religious dimension. Extremism is related to other
classic concepts, such as deviation (inhiraf) and misguidance (dalal). Opposed to these
is the idea that Wahhabism is Islam, and therefore is moderate and balanced; moreover,
to be a good Muslim is to walk the middle ground (wasatiyya) between the extremes
of too much or too little.
It would be wrong, however, to believe that the Saudi campaign to counter extremism
is based entirely on doctrine, although the root of the problem is ignorance (jahl) and
success is measured by degree of repentance (tawba). An important part of the cam-
paign is the eort to imbue believers with correct manners or behavior (akhlaq). As the
terrorist is someone who has lost his rationality and is commanded by passions (e.g.,
hatred and envy) or by selsh inclinations (e.g., greed), it is necessary to bring him back to the fold and instill in him
a correct attitude based on restraint, respect, the common good, and brotherhood. Tis, in turn, will not just turn him
into a law-abiding citizen but also into an apolitical citizen, for all forms of criticism and self-reection are considered
innovations (bida), the major sin in Salasm, and deviation.
Needless to say, much of this eort by Saudi authorities is directed to reassert not just the authority of the state but also
that of the ulama, the guardians of the correct doctrine and religious knowledge (ilm) to whom all believers must refer
their problems and submit to their fatwas, in order for them to establish their correct behavior.
As in the rest of the world, the war on terrorism in Saudi Arabia has led to a deepening of the states control over its
citizens. Te struggle against deviation has always been a means of mind control in Saudi Arabia. But once the mis-
guidance of youth was recognized as a problem, the war against extremism has given the state and the ulama a new op-
portunity to penetrate deeper into society and nd new ways of securing the status quo. Te form this has taken is that
of the nationwide intellectual security (al-aman al-kri) campaign. If the Advisory Committees had been founded
in 2003 to pull the detainees in prisons to the right side of Wahhabism, the intellectual security campaign, which was
As the terrorist is
someone who has
lost his rationality
and is commanded
by passions (e.g.,
hatred and envy) or
by selsh inclina-
tions (e.g., greed),
it is necessary to
bring him back to
the fold and instill
in him a correct at-
titude based on re-
straint, respect, the
common good, and
brotherhood.
34 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Meijer...
launched in 2007, is focused on society at large. Interestingly, it has modernized its older religious terms mobilizing
science for this purpose, installing the Nayif Chair for Intellectual Security Studies, and organizing a massive program
of seminars and workshops for universities, secondary schools, family counseling institutions, and social workers in
order to be able to recognize, detect, and combat deviation at all levels of society. As part of this campaign, the Nayif
Chair organized in May 2009 a three-day conference on the concept of intellectual security. Tough ostensibly aca-
demic, the titles of the papers and the heavy attendance of both state and religious dignitaries shows how dicult it is
for the academic eld to emancipate itself from the religious and political eld.

Not everyone has been as enthusiastic about the concept of intellectual security. On websites and newspapers, interest-
ing debates have raged about the implications of intellectual security. Only a few, however, seem to be able to break out
of the connes of this religious discourse on deviation and have suggested that political, economic, or social factors
might be reasons for terrorism. Even fewer critics point out that combating terrorism with basically the same discourse
can backre: they correctly point out that this counter-discourse only hinges on such a feeble doctrine as wali al-amr
and the concept that division is worse than unity, or such suggestions that the Saudi state upholds the struggle against
zulm and is the embodiment of wasatiyya. Once this illusion is punctured, the whole building collapses and can be used
against the innocuous prince and its ulama, who lose themselves in the purication of doctrine.
35 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Liberal Enclaves: A Royal Attempt to Bypass Clerical Power
Andrew Hammond
Andrew Hammond was Re-
uters bureau chief in Riyadh
from 2005-8 and is the au-
thor of Popular Culture in
the Arab World and What
the Arabs Tink of Ameri-
ca.
Within the rst months of Abdullahs term as King, the Saudi government pursued a
number of policies to improve the Kingdoms economic prole. Saudi Arabia became a
member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the limits were raised on foreign
stakes in sectors such as banking, telecommunications services, wholesale, retail, and
franchising. Tese reforms were intended to answer the economic priorities of diversi-
fying from dependence on oil revenues, nding jobs for young Saudis, and opening up
foreign investment. But they had another function too, one that was more transparent
in a centerpiece of the early period of Abdullahs reign: the establishment of economic
cities where, freed from the inuence of the Wahhabi clerics, Saudis would live, work,
and study as productive members of a modern economy.
Te lead project was the King Abdullah Economic City, which was announced in De-
cember 2005. Tree more have followed for Jizan, Hail, and Medina. For now little more
than an expanse of desert by the sea north of Jeddah, the King Abdullah City has been
sold in publicity material as a hypermodern, eco-friendly mlange of port and industrial
zone, nancial center, residential quarters, luxury resort, and schools and colleges a
Dubai on the Red Sea coast. With images of men and women in beach wear, its develop-
er Emaar Economic City, a subsidiary of Dubais Emaar, proclaimed in 2005 the dawn
of a kingdom in a new colour.
1
Ocials let it be known in foreign media that women
would be allowed to drive cars, schools and universities would be co-educational, the
gender restrictions in public places would be relaxed, and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talals
entertainment rm Rotana could operate cinema houses. Housing two million people
by its completion around 2020, the city was to be a model of urban renewal and modern
education, as well as a zone where the rules of society were put in abeyance. Tough no
one has said so publicly, the city was intended to be a liberal enclave in Saudi Arabias
sea of religious conservatism. As such, the project encapsulated the hopes of socio-
economic reform that the Saudi liberal class invested in King Abdullah when the long,
turbulent era of King Fahd nally came to an end.
Te economic city/liberal enclave innovation was part of a wider shif engendered by
the hijacking of civilian airliners in the United States by an al-Qaida cell on Septem-
ber 11, 2001. Te 9/11 attacks were a serious blow to Saudi prestige and created panic
within the ruling dynasty for the future of the state in which they had monopolized
political power since 1932. Fifeen of the attackers were Saudi, and they acted in the
1. Saudi to get $26 bln makeover with tourism project, Reuters, December 20, 2005.
36 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Hammond...
name of a group headed by a Saudi, and driven by an ideology shared in essence by the Saudi class of Wahhabi religious
scholars, or ulama (the precepts of jihad and takr, or holy war and pronouncing other Muslims and non-Muslims as
indels). Te reformist wing of the royal family led by Abdullah seized the moment to gain the upper hand over his
hawkish half-brothers Sultan and Nayif, who saw no need to upset the clerics by reducing their grip on society through
the mosque, education system, the judiciary, and their coercive apparatus, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue
and Prevention of Vice. Abdullahs calculation was that Saudi Arabia needed to oer a better image to the world if it
wanted to challenge the idea fashionable among some circles close to the Bush Administration of toppling the regime,
as was of course planned for Iraq. Tat meant smoothing the rougher edges of al-Wahhabiyya, though nothing as dras-
tic as breaking the historical alliance with its ulama.
Te Saudi-Wahhabi state contains other liberal zones where Wahhabi social control is
relaxed. Tey include parts of the city of Jeddah where some restaurants play music and
allow unrelated men and women to sit together, on the assumption that the religious
police will not drop by. Jeddahs summer festival has included a cinema section since
2006, and concerts have featured rappers, reecting the more liberal social attitudes of
the Hejaz region compared to the Najd. Te religious police generally avoid the diplo-
matic district in Riyadh and the town of Dhahran on the Gulf coast that houses state
oil rm, Aramco. Tey maintain a light presence in neighboring Khobar, but a strong
presence in the more conservative Dammam in the same Eastern Province vicinity.
Tis year the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) was in-
augurated at a lavish ceremony north of Jeddah next to the economic city, the latest
addition to the small set of liberal enclaves.
KAUST has been fted in Western media as one of the nal gambles of an octogenarian monarch in his twilight years
to outank the repressive clerics.
2
KAUST breaks with tradition on many fronts. It is run by Saudi Aramco, widely seen
as the countrys most ecient and modern corporate institution. It has a foreigner, from Singapore, as its President, and
faculty hired from around the world at immense expense. It opens with a huge $10 billion endowment said to be from
the Kings own pocket. Its curricula are designed by Western consultants rather than the Education Ministry where,
despite the hype, Wahhabism still reigns. Tere is no question of marauding religious police seeking to impose gender
segregation on the premises.
It is not unlikely that this will be the fate of the King Abdullah Economic City. Domestic media has never presented the
economic city concept in the way it was described to foreigners. When foreign media used the phrase liberal enclave
in 2008, there was a visceral reaction from conservatives.
3
Te government has not even hinted that the subsequent
2. Tis might just be the last chance the king gets to institutionalize his progressive legacy and improve the future of his
troubled land.seem, Newsweek wrote; Te King Versus the Radicals, Newsweek, May 26, 2008.
3. Te author of this article was the subject of the attack. News website http:sabq.net ran several stories including saha
reuters hammond yuwasil talq al-akhbar an al-saudiyya. Note the comments that followed in the web forum: www.sabq.
Abdullahs calcula-
tion was that Saudi
Arabia needed to
oer a better im-
age to the world if it
wanted to challenge
the idea fashionable
among some circles
close to the Bush
Administration of
toppling the regime,
as was of course
planned for Iraq.
37 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Hammond...
economic cities announced for Hail, Jizan, and Medina would be similarly segregated from Wahhabi power.
4
Religious
conservatives have consolidated their position afer the period of intense Western pressure for reform and brief sense of
empowerment that liberals enjoyed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Te maneuvering of Interior Minister Prince Nayif
this year to secure the succession while Crown Prince Sultan wrestles abroad with intestinal cancer has further embold-
ened the conservatives. Nayif, who is the main backer of the religious police, declared in June 2009 that they were on a
par with the security forces in his eyes.
5

Abdullah removed the chief of the morality police in February 2009, in what was inter-
preted at the time as a sign of the reform King pushing his agenda further. Te Com-
mission was embroiled in a number of publicity embarrassments in 2007 and 2008,
including the death in their custody of two men. Te family of one of them, Salman al-
Hurasy, say they witnessed him being beaten to death. Te King also appointed a new
Minister of Justice and removed Shaykh Salih al-Luhaydan from his post as head of the
Sharia courts, moves that were interpreted as a boost to Abdullahs plans for judicial
reforms in line with WTO membership that have aroused clerical suspicion. But on the
ground events spoke of a dierent trend. Te Jeddah lm festival was inexplicably can-
celled at the last minute in July, and clerics involved with the morality police used the
press to attack other xtures of the Jeddah summer festival that also were stopped.
6

Liberals and conservatives have been locked in erce debate since the 1980s. Although
at the level of elites, this debate is unresolved, religious conservatives are by far the
dominant force in society (as the results of limited municipal elections in 2005 demon-
strated). Generally, they are the dominant force because of the fundamental structure
of the state, a division of power between the ruling dynasty which controls state policy
and the Wahhabi clerics, who control society. But more specically, they are dominant
because the convergence of three events the Iranian Revolution, the Soviet invasion
of Afghanistan, and the seizing of the Grand Mosque in Mecca by Wahhabi zealots opposed to the royal family
caused a panicked Al Saud to retrench and reinforce the social control mechanism by further empowering the forces
of al-Wahhabiyya. Saudi society as a result went through a kind of re-Islamization in the 1980s afer a period of laxity
in the 1970s, when the regime felt secure in the wake of secular Arab nationalisms discrediting in the 1967 Arab-Israel
war, though of course it was not enough for the so-called Sahwa clerics subsequently arrested for their dissent in
the 1990s who wanted still more.
org/inf/news-action-show-id-8281.htm.
4. Emaar Economic City CEO Fahd Al-Rasheed talked of King Abdullah City surrounded by a fence: It is private property
so there is some sort of need to have some sort of separation. Interview with author, July 2008.
5. Key Saudi prince gives backing to religious police, Reuters, June 17, 2009.
6. See Saudi religious police crack down on summer festivals, Reuters, August 26, 2009.
Saudi society as a
result went through
a kind of re-Islami-
zation in the 1980s
afer a period of
laxity in the 1970s,
when the regime felt
secure in the wake
of secular Arab na-
tionalisms discred-
iting in the 1967
Arab-Israel war,
though of course
it was not enough
for the so-called
Sahwa clerics
subsequently arrest-
ed for their dissent
in the 1990s who
wanted still more.
38 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Hammond...
Rather than tackle the unresolved debate between liberals and conservatives, modernizers in the regime have promoted
bubbles of modernity as an alternative. Yet even these liberal enclaves are coming under pressure. Many of the liberals,
a term that embraces a loose collection of lefists, Arab nationalists, human rights activists, and Western-oriented elites,
have crowded around their patrons among Al Saud for protection and solace. Tus, editor Jamal Khashoggi, who served
as Prince Turki al-Faysals media advisor at the Saudi Embassy in London and Washington, attacks the ulama for their
extremism from his pulpit in al-Watan, the paper owned by Prince Turkis brother Prince Khaled where Khashoggi is
editor-in-chief. Tus, Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, a rights activist who has suered for his eorts to catalogue and publicize
Interior Ministry abuse, says he looks to the royal family as a safety valve.
7
And thus a Saudi Prince could say: [Saudi
Arabia] is one of the rare cases in the world with a liberal government and a conservative population and society.
8

Tose who have sought a clear program of political reform that could oer a way out of the impasse have been thrown
in jail or put on trial. Tirteen were arrested in 2004 afer presenting a petition for a constitutional monarchy, three of
whom were put on trial, and nine, including three who wrote another petition, were detained without trial in 2007. But
inuential clerics who involved themselves in previous calls for reform indeed, they led the movement of dissent
during 1991-4 have been silent. Tey have all the incentive. Teir system of social control remains intact, despite the
half-hearted attempts to challenge them. As Sahwa preacher Muhsin al-Awaji says bluntly: Tis country was set up on
religious bases and it will stay that way forever. It can never change.
9

7. Without them I dont know what could happen to this country, Mugaiteeb said; interview with author, September 2009.
8. Interview with Prince Bandar bin Saud bin Khalid Al Saud, March 2006.
9. Interview with author, August 2008.
39 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Te Neo-Reformists: A New Democratic Islamic Discourse
Saud al-Sarhan
Saud al-Sarhan is a Saudi
writer and a doctoral can-
didate at Exeter University
in the United Kingdom. He
wishes to thank Prof. Bernard
Haykel for his comments and
valuable help.
In the late 1970s, two Muslim gures attempted to make their ideas of the True Islamic
State a reality. Imam Ruhollah Khomeini succeeded forming the Islamic Republic of
Iran under the ideology of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist (wilayat al-faqih).
1

In contrast, Juhayman al-Utaybi failed with his friends in al-Jamaa al-Salayya al-
Muhtasiba to establish the apocalyptic Rightly Caliphate (al-Khilafa al-Rashida)
under the Mahdis
2
rule in Mecca. Despite these dierences, Khomeini and Juhayman
agreed on one thing: the Islamic Government must be ruled by Gods rules, not hu-
man law. Both Khomeini and Juhayman rejected democracy because it promoted gov-
ernance through man-made laws and not those of God.
3
Te relationship between democracy and Sharia law has been a point of contention
between various Islamists throughout the Muslim world but, despite the dierent in-
tellectual and political orientations and aliations in the country, it has never been
problematic among those in Saudi Arabia. Islamists in Saudi Arabia have uniformly
considered democracy a form of paganism, not a legitimate political system or regime.
Tey have moved democracy from the political arena to the sphere of religious belief by
condemning it through an uncompromising and purist religious discourse.
Islamists in the Kingdom have viewed democracy as a pagan creed because it promotes
governance through man-made laws and not those of God. Tus, they have regarded
parliaments as institutions of arbitrary rule and places in which kufr (unbelief) and
shirk (polytheism) dominate because the laws that are proposed and enacted are not
rooted in Gods revelation.
4
1. Ruhollah Khomeini, Islamic Government (New York: Manor Books, 1979).
2. Mahdi means the rightly guided one. Here it refers to Muhammad b. Abd Allah al-
Qahtani (killed in 1979), whom Juhayman and his colleagues in the al-Jamaa al-Salayya
al-Muhtasiba believe is the awaited Mahdi.
3. See: Juhayman Utaybi, Risala al-Imara wa-al-Baya wa-al-Taa (Essay on the Emirate and
Pledge of Allegiance and Obedience), available at www.tawhed.ws/r1?i=6513&x=fcchouzr;
and Khomeini, Ruh Allah, Islamic Government.
4. See, for example, Safar al-Hawali, Muhadarah: Qiraa al-dasatir al-qawmiyya (Lecture:
A Reading on Nationalist Constitutions); Nasir al-Umar, Min Tawabi al-intikhabat
al-amrikiyya: madha sanaat al-dimuqratiyya? (Te Afermath of US Elections: What
has Democracy Achieved?), available at http://www.almoslim.net/node/102742; Ali al-
Khudhayr, Fatwa hukm al-barlamanat (A Fatwa about the Legality of Parliaments)
<unpublished>; Mani al-Juhani and others, al-Mawsuah al-muyassara al-adyan wa al-
madhahib wa al-ahzab al-muasira (Encyclopaedia of Religions, Sects and Contemporary
Parties), Vol. 2, pp. 1056-7.
40 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
al-Sarhan...
In the early 1990s, Islamists throughout the Arab world began participating in parliamentary elections such as in Al-
geria, Sudan, Yemen, and Kuwait; and they looked for fatwas from Saudi scholars to legitimize this participation. Te
fatwas they received varied.
Despite the unanimous agreement among Saudi religious scholars that legislation is an exclusive right of Gods and
challenging this right by participating in Parliament constitutes kufr, some Saudi scholars (e.g., Grand Mufi Abd al Aziz
ibn Baz and Muhammad ibn Uthaymin) provided the Islamists in neighboring countries with fatwas allowing them to
join the Parliament on certain conditions. On the other hand, other scholars maintained their position that parliamen-
tary participation is prohibited.
5
Some scholars provided a fatwa which conditioned the Islamists participation in Par-
liament on making the government adopt Islamic law and to use Parliament as a means
to overthrowing the ruling regime. A further condition disallowed those who were
running for Parliament from accepting a government oce that was in contradiction
with Islamic law.
6
Tey also pointed out that an oath of loyalty to the constitution is
prohibited because one should be loyal only to God. Tey oered a way out of this
bind by requiring the newly elected member of Parliament to maintain in his heart the
intention to plead allegiance to the constitution as long as it is not contrary to Sharia.
Tis is on the basis of the accepted principle that deeds are based on intentions.
7
Within the Saudi Islamist camp there have been a number of attempts to re-consider Islamic political theory and to
make democracy compatible with Sharia.
8
Te only attempt that has truly succeeded in generating a debate among
Islamists about this question resulted from a collection of published articles by Dr. Muhammad Hamid al-Ahmari, who
has written extensively to prove that there is no clash between Islam and democracy and states that the latter is to be
considered the best type of regime available today despite its aws, which he believes can be corrected.
Following the war between Hezbollah and Israel in August 2006, Al-Ahmari wrote an article entitled Te Pitfall of
Analyzing Matters Teologically
9
in which he criticizes the interference of religious scholars in political aairs. He
explains the shortcomings of analyzing politics by using theology, warning that despite the importance of the religious
in political matters, it should not be the only perspective to adopt.
10

5. See, for example, Rabi al-Madkhali, in his book: Jamaa wahida la jamaat wa sirat wahid la asharat (One Community not
Communities and One Path not Tens of Paths). pp. 39-40.
6. Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daima lil Buhuth al-Ilmiyya wa al-Ifa, Vol. 23, pp. 406-7. Te fatwa was issued by Ibn Baz, Abd al-
Razzaq A, Abd Allah b. Ghudayyan and Abd Allah b. Quud.
7. Tis fatwa was issued by Ibn Uthaymin. See: Hamad al-Hajiri, hukm al-dimuqratiyah al-Islam [Te Legal Value of
Democracy in Islam], p. 5 (unpublished).
8. For example, Abd Allah al-Hamid.
9. Muhammad al-Ahmari, Khidat al-tahlil al-Aqadi (Te Trick of Teological Analysis), available at http://www.alasr.ws/
index.cfm?method=home.con&contentID=8070.
10. Muhammad al-Ahmari, Khidat al-tahlil al-Aqadi.
Some scholars pro-
vided a fatwa which
conditioned the
Islamists participa-
tion in Parliament
on making the
government adopt
Islamic law and to
use Parliament as
a means to over-
throwing the ruling
regime.
41 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
al-Sarhan...
Al-Ahmari describes theological analysts as narrow-minded, limited in [their] range
of thinking and interpretation, [and] who win the approval of those [like them who
are] limited in their thinking and cannot tolerate a diversity of views. He adds: A one-
sided narrow-minded way of thinking that does not allow any room for diversity of
thought and may work well for mob leaders and military ocials in the battleeld, but
it does not work well on people of a higher level or in controlling a state because it will
fail due to its narrow, limited and weak ideological foundation. Te political process
will fail even though such school of thought succeeds with the mob.
11

Al-Ahmari wrote another article in celebration of the victory of Barak Obama in the
2008 US presidential election which generated many reactions. Entitled Te Victory of
Democracy over Paganism in the US elections,
12
Al-Ahmari describes this election as a
victory for the democracy of numbers (the will of the majority), the democracy of opinions
(the public took heed of opposite opinions), and the democracy of interests (opposition is
necessary to evaluate the best position). Democracy triumphed over race (a black man won),
and gender (a woman almost won the election). Democracy [until now] has not triumphed
over religion; if Obama was a Muslim, he would not have won the presidency. If he was an
Arab, he may not have won either. However, this is what has happened now, and what the fu-
ture holds remains unknown. Yet, [we should] remember that two people of Arab origin are
competing in the state of New Hampshire.
13

Al-Ahmari saw in Obamas victory a triumph for minorities, which further conrms the value of freedom in the US. He
adds a sharp comment on the state of the Arab world saying: It is part of this worlds fate that freedom and the respect
for it are rmly rooted in a government [US government] that is superior to us, which brings the hope that freedom will
seep through to the societies of backwardness and slavery. It is part of this worlds luck that we aspire to create our own
freedom and require the freed to treat us as humans and help us get rid of the worship of our idols.
14
Obamas win is no
longer one mans victory, but a triumph of principles and ideas. It is an example that the people of the Arab region need
to emulate. Democracy is no longer paganism. In fact, the dictatorships that rule the Muslim world and the ideologies
that protect them are.
Al-Ahmaris articles generated numerous and varied reactions, which were reected in scores of newspaper pages and
internet websites that debated and discussed his ideas, not to mention television interviews and lectures in literary
11. Muhammad al-Ahmari, Khidat al-tahlil al-Aqadi.
12. Muhammad al-Ahmari, Intisar al-dimuqratiyya ala al-wathaniyya al-intikhabat al-amrikiyya [Te Victory of Democracy
over Paganism in the US Elections], http://www.alasr.ws/index.cfm?method=home.con&ContentId=10439 .
13. Muhammad al-Ahmari, Intisar al-dimuqratiyya ala al-wathaniyya al-intikhabat al-amrikiyya
14. Muhammad al-Ahmari, Intisar al-dimuqratiyya ala al-wathaniyya al-intikhabat al-amrikiyya
Obamas win is no
longer one mans
victory, but a tri-
umph of principles
and ideas. It is an
example that the
people of the Arab
region need to emu-
late. Democracy is
no longer paganism.
42 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
al-Sarhan...
clubs. Furthermore, his articles elicited powerful reactions from a group of Salas and
theologians,
15
as might be expected. Most of these reactions dealt with side issues and
were of a sectarian nature that used a dogmatic language and failed to present any
constructive discussion of Al-Ahmaris views. However, one particular Sala group
sought to answer Al-Ahmari to illustrate that democracy is not a political paradise, but
rather is a awed system since the election process levels the dierences between the
commoners and the elites, which is unacceptable.
16
Democracy, this group argued, is
another form of colonialism.
17
Te most important response to al-Ahmaris ideas came
from Dr. Nasir al-Umar who criticized the state of obsession that has befallen writers
following Obamas victory in the US election. Despite al-Umars admission of the rela-
tive existence of freedom in the US, he believes that the US system of governance is a
dictatorship since democracy is not a synonym of freedom. Voters are subjected to the
inuence of the media, which in turn control their thinking. Meanwhile, the media are
under the power of a controlling clique.
18

Al-Ahmari responded powerfully to all those who criticized him. One of the most important issues he pointed out in
his response is the role of the media in inuencing election results. He uncovered the hypocrisy of the religious scholars
who employed money and the media in their municipal election campaigns in Saudi Arabia in 2005 and parliamentary
ones in Kuwait. He writes:
Who is it who speaks of using money and publicity? I hope these people remember the
competition between Salas and the brothers [i.e., Muslim Brotherhood] in the municipal
elections in the Kingdom and the Islamists internecine struggle in Kuwait. If these are crimes
then the so-called Golden lists issued by the Islamists, the publicity and banquets are a front
for the struggle between the Islamists, who donated and spent money and whose legitimacy
was never questioned. No one objected to these practices, so why object now when this per-
tains to the non-Muslims.
19

15. For example, see Lutf Allah Khujah, Sidq al-tahlil al-aqadi [Te Truthfulness of Teological Analysis], http://www.alasr.ws/
index.cfm?method=home.con&ContentId=8227; and Bandar Al-Shuwayqi, Khidat al-tahlil al-siyasi [Te Trick of Political
Analysis], http://www.dorar.net/art/61.
16. Abd al-Rahim al-Silmi, al-Azmah al-waqiiyya li-l-dimuqratiyya [Te Real Crisis of Democracy], http://www.alqlm.com/
index.cfm?method=home.con&contentID=497; and Badr al-Amir, Hawas al-dimuqratiyya [Te obsession with Democracy],
http://www.islamtoday.net/nawafeth/artshow-40-105729.htm.
17. Badr al-Amir, Hawas al-dimuqratiyya [Te obsession with Democracy], http://www.islamtoday.net/nawafeth/
artshow-40-105729.htm.
18. Nasir Al-Umar, al-Diktaturiyya al-kriyyah allati yumarisuha duat al-dimuqratiyya akhtar min al-idariyya [Te
Intellectual Dictatorship Exercised by the Promoters of Democracy is More Dangerous than the Administrative], http://www.
almoslim.net/node/102391. Al-Umar repeated and expanded on these ideas in his article: Min tawabi al-intikhabat al-
amrikiyya: wa madha sanaat al-dimuqratiyya? [Te Afermath of the US Elections: What Has Democracy Achieved?], http://
www.almoslim.net/node/102742.
19. okaz Newspaper, Issue 2720, November 27, 2008.
He believes that
the US system of
governance is a
dictatorship since
democracy is not
a synonym of free-
dom. Voters are
subjected to the
inuence of the me-
dia, which in turn
control their think-
ing. Meanwhile, the
media are under the
power of a control-
ling clique.
43 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
al-Sarhan...
al-Ahmari fought vociferously for his opinions, and the Islamists similarly responded, which enriched the Islamic-
political discourse and the understanding of Saudi Islamists of the meaning of democracy and freedom. Al-Ahmari
was not alone in defending his ideas, as many adopted his views, which prompted his opponents to call them the
neo-reformists.
20
Te details of this struggle deserve further examination, which will not be possible due to the space
constraints here.
CoNCLUSIoN
Te importance of al-Ahmaris opinions lies, rst of all, in his ability to recapture politics from the sphere of religious
debate to that of worldly aairs by exposing theological analysis to criticism and questioning its credibility. He was able
to bring the Islamists to discuss the value of democracy instead of being content with prohibiting it and projecting it
as a form of blasphemy. Tis includes getting them to acknowledge, both implicitly and explicitly, its value to the here
and now.
Second, al-Ahmari managed to stir a strong debate amongst the Islamists in Saudi Arabia, which no other writer has
managed to achieve. One reason for this is al-Ahmaris past, having been one of the prominent ideologues of the Is-
lamic awakening (Sahwa) in the 1990s. Furthermore, his strong and sharp language succeeded in provoking many. He
remained very active by writing in the press and by appearing on television talk shows and on the lecture circuit, which
he used to clarify his ideas and respond to his opponents.
Tird, al-Ahmari succeeded in restoring a degree of respect for such ideals as freedom and democracy among some of
the Islamists, albeit to a limited degree.
Al-Ahmari is presently leading a new reformist Islamic trend in the Kingdom one that aims to restore the respect
of individual freedom in relation to political and religious despotism. It remains an open question how successful this
trend will be.
20. For example, see N. Qudaymi, Ashwaq al-Hurriyya [Longing for Freedom] and Fouad al-Farhan, al-Tahlil al-aqadi li-
l-intikhabat al-amrikiyya [Te Teological Analysis of the US Elections], http://www.alasr.ws/index.cfm?method=home.
con&contentID=1047.
44 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Saudi-Shiite Political Relations in the Kingdom
Toby Jones
Toby C. Jones, rutgers Uni-
versity, is the author of a
forthcoming book on oil in
Saudi Arabia (Harvard Uni-
versity Press).
Saudi Arabia always has been a tough neighborhood for religious minorities. Tis
has been especially true for the Kingdoms Shiites, the countrys largest minority, with
almost two million of them living in the oil-rich Eastern Province. From early in the
20
th
century, Shiites have been the targets of scorn and opprobrium, much of it with
the ocial blessing of the Saudi rulers. Te origins of anti-Shiite enmity are hardly a
mystery. Te Kingdoms ocial religious orthodoxy, an interpretation of Islam ofen
called Wahhabism, was based in large measure on hostility toward Shiism and its ad-
herents. Confronted with contempt and forced to endure harsh treatment, Shiites have
suered considerable neglect as second-class citizens in almost 100 years of Saudi rule.
Although most live in close proximity to the source of Saudi Arabias wealth, Shiites
have largely never beneted from the windfall brought by oil, struggling in tough social
and environmental conditions lef behind in an era of prosperity.
While little has changed with regard to the material, social, and economic status of
Shiites over time, their political relations have transformed dramatically in the last 30
years. Te year 1979 marked the pivotal turning point, the moment when Saudi Arabias
Shiites began to ght back against oppression and forever redened their relationship
with the ruling family. And for better and worse, the legacy of 1979 continues to shape
the relationship between the Saudis and the Shiites today.
In November 1979 thousands of dissidents stormed the streets of the Eastern Province
in an uprising that shocked the Kingdom and its rulers. Frustrated by their status as
second-class citizens, activists directed their ire at the government, unleashing a violent
wave of unrest. Saudi security forces used overwhelming force to crush the rebellion.
Te uprising proved politically transformative. From 1913, when the Al Saud conquered
what would become the Eastern Province and incorporated it into their domain, to
the late 1970s, most Shiites embraced and had practiced a form of political quietism.
Community leaders had pushed for social and political justice, but had striven to avoid
provoking a confrontation with Saudi authorities or their most zealous supporters. By
the late 1970s, a new generation of political aspirants, what would become the vanguard
of a new leadership, embraced a more radical approach to community aairs, using
religion as a pretext for revolutionary activism. Teir calls for revolution culminated in
the 1979 uprising.
Te embrace of violence, strident anti-Saudi sentiment, and devotion to revolution de-
45 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Jones...
ned the Shiite approach to politics during the 1980s. Many of those who took to the streets in 1979 were either killed
or detained. Te rest ed into exile, seeking political shelter in places like Damascus, London, and Washington, DC.
From their perches abroad, the most committed activists continued to champion revolution, publishing a monthly
journal and working to bring to light human rights and other abuses in the Kingdom.
For their part, Saudi Arabias rulers viewed the upsurge in activism and the radicaliza-
tion of the community as the direct result of Irans Islamic Revolution. Tey considered
the 1979 uprising not only as an important bellwether of politics at home, but also an
indication of Irans mounting regional power. Te uprising, then, seemed to be as much
a geopolitical problem as a local political one. During the 1980s the Kingdom dealt
with Shiite activism as it did Iran, with suspicion and a heavy hand.
Afer a decade in exile, however, the Shiite communitys main leaders Hassan al-
Saar and his closest lieutenants began to sofen their tone. By the end of the 1980s
they renounced violence and pressed instead for democratic reform in Saudi Arabia
and the protection of religious minorities. Key activists continued to publish a monthly
newsletter and shed light on abuses in the Kingdom, but they ceased calls for violence.
Teir change in tone created a political opening. Attuned to the transformation that
had taken place, Saudi leaders, who had grown increasingly embarrassed by eorts
to unveil the Kingdoms excesses, pursued rapprochement with al-Saar and his sup-
porters. In exchange for ending their publishing campaign, Saudi Arabia welcomed
many of the one-time revolutionaries home and assured them that the Kingdom nally
would address some of the communitys most pressing social, economic, and political
concerns.
Not everyone was ameliorated by the gesture. A number of disaected and still-angry residents of the Eastern Prov-
ince refused any conciliation and continued to support violent resistance to Saudi power. Most of these belonged to
Hizbullah in the Hijaz, a militant organization that many claim was responsible for a terrorist attack on an American
military housing facility in the seaside village of al-Khobar in 1996 that killed 19 American military service personnel
and wounded hundreds of others. While the attack raised alarms about the specter of a new round of militancy and the
potential of Iranian involvement, the bombings revealed that most Shiites had in fact abandoned revolutionary politics
and would support eorts at bridge-building with the Saudi government.
From the mid-1990s to today, the dominant political trend in the Shiite community has been one focused on reform
and pluralism, although there are important indications that this may soon change. Te former radicals have patiently
and diligently worked toward improving living conditions in their home communities as well as toward carving out
space for greater political participation. Tey remain committed to the principles of non-violence and reform. Teir
Saudi Arabias rul-
ers viewed the up-
surge in activism
and the radicaliza-
tion of the commu-
nity as the direct re-
sult of Irans Islamic
Revolution. Tey
considered the 1979
uprising not only as
an important bell-
wether of politics at
home, but also an
indication of Irans
mounting regional
power. Te uprising,
then, seemed to be
as much a geopoliti-
cal problem as a lo-
cal political one.
46 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
eorts have met with mixed results. Some Saudi leaders, most notably the current King, have responded favorably to
Shiite entreaties for relief and protection. Shiites have been included in eorts to promote dialogue between Muslims
since 2003. In 2005 Shiites ran openly and won resounding victories in elections to the countrys Municipal Councils,
the rst time such elections had been held in four decades. Shiites also have been aorded opportunities to expand
religious observance, most notably by being allowed to publicly commemorate Ashura, their most important religious
ritual.
But while the Kingdom has moved to address some of the Shiite communitys most se-
rious concerns, these eorts have also proven to be tenuous, subject to various political
pressures and easily reversed. Saudi rulers remain deeply suspicious of the community,
the potential that they continue to harbor revolutionary goals, or that they are in fact a
fh column for Iran. Te fallout from the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, including the rise
of Shiite power there and the re-emergence of Iran as a regional rival, has re-opened
many of the old wounds. Tis has meant that the government has slowed or reversed
many of its eorts to accommodate Shiite religious, social, and cultural desires. Rather
than supporting the communitys wish to observe its beliefs, in 2009 Saudi authorities
have begun again to harass its largest minority, arresting dozens for practicing their
faith.
Worse, the Saudi government also has encouraged or condoned anti-Shiite radicalism
inside the Kingdom. Anti-Shiism escalated dramatically in the afermath of the inva-
sion of Iraq and has not yet abated. In February 2009 hundreds of Shiite worshippers
in Medina were besieged by members of the Saudi religious and regular police. In the days and weeks following, Shiite
leaders began warning again of the potential for a new era of violent confrontation. Some of these voices were new.
Others were familiar, such as a resurgent Saudi Hizbullah an ominous indication that afer decades of disappointing
results the community might choose the path of radicalism once again.
For now an uneasy calm has settled over the Eastern Province. But 30 years afer the last outbreak of widespread vio-
lence, the future of Saudi-Shiite political relations remains far from certain.

Jones...
Te fallout from the
2003 US invasion of
Iraq, including the
rise of Shiite power
there and the re-
emergence of Iran
as a regional rival,
has re-opened many
of the old wounds.
Tis has meant that
the government has
slowed or reversed
many of its eorts to
accommodate Shiite
religious, social, and
cultural desires.
47 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Reforming the Judiciary in Saudi Arabia
Joseph A. Kchichian
Joseph Kchichian serves as
CEo of Kchichian & As-
sociates, LLC, a consulting
partnership that provides
analysis on the Arabian/Per-
sian Gulf region, and is Hon-
orary Consul of the Sultan-
ate of oman in Los Angeles,
California. His recent publi-
cations include Faysal: Saudi
Arabias King for All Seasons
and Power and Succession
in Arab Monarchies.
Though the Saudi royal family still rules the realm, they have initiated a number of
reforms over the past 30 years. Some of these reforms have been bolder and more suc-
cessful than others. Some have been doomed from the very start a few, perhaps, were
intended to be stillborn. Judicial reform is one of the most recent and potentially one of
the most important reform initiatives undertaken in the Kingdom.
In late 2007, King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz allocated nearly $2 billion to overhaul
the Kingdoms judicial system and upgrade its court facilities, ostensibly to streamline
the legal process, which had been and remained a perennial source of dissatisfaction
for many. Few perceived the move as being serious. Critics contended that spending a
couple of billion dollars would not be eective as long as the ideological foundations
on which the entire legal premise of the country continued to be embedded in Sharia
(Islamic law).
Inasmuch as Abdullah is an innovator, his move to reinforce the standing of the coun-
trys courts and, more importantly, to introduce the idea that judges ought to make
their rulings free from outside inuence, stood out. His desire to overhaul the term
itself was revolutionary the judiciary from the top down was equally bold. Te Mon-
arch proposed the establishment of a supreme court, one or more appeals courts, and
a general courts system to replace the dated apparatus operating under the Supreme
Judicial Council (SJC). While some of these measures were meant to expedite ongo-
ing economic reforms, the creation of a supreme court was bound to have far-reaching
consequences, including a marked improvement in civil liberties.
ECoNoMIC rEqUIrEMENTS
Although Riyadhs proposals reected the need to streamline the Kingdoms growing
economy, not all of the changes were directly related to Saudi interactions with the out-
side world. In fact, most civil proceedings that involved claims against the government,
as well as the enforcement of foreign judgments, were time consuming and problematic,
not because they were heard by special administrative tribunals such as the Commis-
sion for the Settlement of Labor Disputes or the Board of Grievances, but because these
institutions were burdened by a dense bureaucracy. Beyond the intricacies of the laws
themselves, disputes were handled by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry commit-
tees, or Ministry of Labor minions, which had earned poor reputations for notorious
48 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Kchichian...
rulings that seldom handled commercial disputes fairly. Labor challenges were seldom adjudicated with any degree of
impartiality. In short, whimsical bureaucrats tended to err on the side of the impossible, which prevented the develop-
ment of fair and relatively transparent commercial settlements. Independent commercial courts will now handle dis-
putes that may arise in a more or less impartial way, adjudicating on the merits of a case, rather than subjecting putative
decisions to the narrower institutional interests of a particular ministry.
With the creation of independent commercial courts, as well as appropriate appeals
tribunals, domestic and foreign investors in Saudi Arabia will presumably receive a
far more expeditious enforcement of contracts. Indeed, the purpose of these reforms
is precisely to ensure that everyone operates within a sound investment climate to
protect businesses from the vagaries of periodic disputes. Equally important, Abdul-
lah insisted that these technical courts be staed by specially trained magistrates with
knowledge or even expertise in commercial aairs, because he wished to unburden re-
ligious courts heretofore saddled with such responsibilities. To his immense credit, the
Monarch appreciated the value of his religious qadis (judges), but understood that the
brightest among them could not possibly display prociency on every subject. Natu-
rally, neither the talent nor the training of commercial magistrates could be developed instantaneously. Accordingly,
Riyadh embarked on the long-term overhaul of its legal institutions, including bankruptcy legislation, shareholder
protection, and the various regulations that governed access to lines of credit. Abdullah was aware that legal reforms
were interconnected, which necessitated carefully studied adaptations of the nancial sector, working and interacting
with both commercial and industrial activities. His challenge was to introduce meaningful improvements in these areas
without upsetting existing institutions that legitimized Al Saud rule.
THE SUPrEME CoUrT
To maintain relative harmony, Abdullah abolished the SJC, as he envisaged a functioning replacement that would be-
come the Kingdoms highest legal tribunal. It may be useful to note that the 1975 Law of the Judiciary (especially Article
5) identied the Supreme Judicial Council as the highest legal authority in Saudi Arabia. Composed of 11 members, the
SJC was staed by ve judges who constituted a Permanent Panel of the Council, which acted as its own embedded Ap-
pellate Court. Tese magistrates were full-time members, but were supplemented by another ve part-time qadis, which
included the Chief of the Appellate Court or his deputy, the Deputy Minister of Justice, and the three members with the
longest time in service as Chief Judges of the General Courts in Mecca, Medina, Riyadh, Jiddah, Dammam, and/or Jizan.
In addition to these ten men, a Chairman appointed by the King convened panelists on an as needed basis. SJC duties
encompassed a slew of activities, ranging across administrative, legislative, consultative, and judicial functions. Needless
to say, because the SJC supervised most courts, administered employment-related aairs of the judiciary, and assumed
the burden of rendering judgments on religious, social, commercial, and myriad other topics, it was nearly impossible
for it to function eectively. How could magistrates render fair rulings on major criminal cases, including those involv-
How could magis-
trates render fair
rulings on major
criminal cases, in-
cluding those in-
volving death sen-
tences, while simul-
taneously opining
on general Sharia
principles?
49 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Kchichian...
ing death sentences, while simultaneously opining on general Sharia principles?
Te new Supreme Court will have a narrower writ, addressing administrative matters
that will concentrate on the selection of judges, the setting up of tribunals, and other
specialist courts to implement the Kings recommendations. It will not be a body simi-
lar to either the US Supreme Court or the British High Court of Justice. Rather, the
high court will rstly examine cases involving administrative appeals rulings, to handle
disputes involving the rights of employees, compensation, contracts, disciplinary is-
sues, administrative decisions, and the implementation of foreign regulations. A sepa-
rate Board of Grievances henceforth will supervise administrative disputes involving
government departments, which will act as an independent body and be directly an-
swerable to the King. Second, the Supreme Court will focus on selected cases that may
require national attention. Abdullah apparently recommended that the Supreme Court
devise an ocial website to publish Islamic legal rulings, or fatwas, in order to ensure
that these and only these as yet not fully dened cases are recognized by all scholars who must rely on precedence.
Tus, unlike the SJC, the Supreme Court has a prominent guidance role. What remains to be determined, however, is
the interaction, or clash as the case may be, between members of the Supreme Court and the Council of Senior ulama
(Islamic scholars). Without questioning the latters professionalism, Riyadh must ensure that the Supreme Court will
grow eventually to become the institution that will uphold all laws in Saudi Arabia a developing country experienc-
ing growing pains. Over time, a reformed legal system will eliminate arbitrary judgments, and while the codication of
laws will not be automatic (as it will remain under Sharia), King Abdullahs vision may well strengthen the monarchy.
Because all legal questions are interpreted through religious rulings in Saudi Arabia, the very idea of reforms, even if
putative, will strike secularists as imaginary at best. Naturally, throwing money at a problem will not necessarily solve
any of its intrinsic shortcomings, but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seems nevertheless to have embarked on one of its
most sweeping legal changes in generations.
Over time, a re-
formed legal system
will eliminate ar-
bitrary judgments,
and while the codi-
cation of laws will
not be automatic
(as it will remain
under Sharia), King
Abdullahs vision
may well strengthen
the monarchy.
50 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Tribes and the Saudi Legal System: An Assessment of Coexistence
Sebastian Maisel
Sebastian Maisel is Assis-
tant Professor for Arabic and
Middle East Studies at Grand
Valley State University. He
did extensive eld work in
Saudi Arabia and published
books and articles on anthro-
pological issues related to
Saudi society.
Saudi Arabia is overwhelmingly Islamic and has always been ruled under the Sharia,
or Islamic law. Te sheer existence of an additional legal system in Saudi Arabia, besides
the Islamic Sharia, is regarded as an oense against the Islamic character or moder-
nity of the country and its judicial system. Islamic law is supreme in Saudi Arabia, and
the idea of the divine right of kings, used to justify absolute monarchies in Christian
Europe, would be considered heresy. As divine law, it is immutable and unchangeable.
As constitutional law it cannot be amended. All litigation in the Kingdom must be con-
ducted in accordance with the Sharia.
THE SAUDI LEGAL SySTEM
Te ocial legal system in Saudi Arabia is the Sharia, or Islamic law. In 1926, King Abd
al-Aziz ibn Saud in the process of unifying the country issued an order to unify the
judicial system as well, basing it on the Hanbali School of law. He also prohibited the
application of tribal customary law. Sharia law was now applicable among the whole
population, nomad as well as urban, and its most important message was to command
virtue and prevent vice, or in other words, to protect the prophetic tradition and to
avoid any innovations.
Te Sharia code of behavior is much broader than simply Western legal codes of right
and wrong or cultural norms of good and bad. In general, there are ve categories of
describing human behavior, not just the two of good and bad. On the positive side are
two categories; wajib, acts that are obligatory, and mandub, acts that are recommended
and bring reward from God but are not mandatory. On the negative are: haram, acts
that are prohibited, and makruh, acts that are reprehensible but not prohibited.
It is the middle category, mubah, however, that has provided the latitude for the Saudi
legal system to address legal issues that have arisen as a result of rapid modernization.
Mubah refers to those acts that are not specically mentioned in the sources of the law
and on which it is indierent. Tey cover areas of modern nancial, commercial and
labor issues that in the West are subject to statuary laws such as commercial and labor
contracts. In theory they are not legislated but promulgated in decrees, which are not
part of the Sharia itself but must be consistent with it. In addition, special administra-
tive tribunals have been created to adjudicate labor and commercial disputes.
51 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Maisel...
Te ocial view of the country and its judicial institutions is one of a country that strictly follows the guidelines of
Islamic Law, Sharia. Te necessity of supplementary regulations, which provide answer to legal questions not covered
by the usul al-qh (the origins or fundamentals of the law), is unquestioned considering the countrys position in the
global economy and diverse population. Tus, it is argued that on an informal level a multitude of legal forms and
expressions exists which are recognizable through distinct types of judicial organization: a religious based, a state law
based on Western legal principles, and customary tribal law. Tey are sometimes confrontational, and at other times
complementary to each other, but can also overlap and merge in specic areas. Tose
three legal systems are Sharia, state jurisdiction in areas not covered by Sharia (mar-
sum, nizam), and the customary law of tribal groups (urf).
In theory, all cases should have been solved according to Sharia law; however, it ap-
pears that, at times, Sharia is supplemented with legal measures from other sources,
here economic regulations and customary procedures related to the tribes. Non-re-
ligious regulations enacted by the government, however, have tended to play a more
important role in the wake of the countrys modernization. According to the basic law
of governance, Royal decrees are issued to supplement the legislation in those matters
where Sharia is insucient, particularly in the elds of nance, economy, and admin-
istration. With modern legal reforms, marsum and nizam became the common names
for most laws and regulations, provided that they complied with Sharia norms.
CUSToMAry LAW oF THE TrIBES
In Saudi Arabia no ocial laws or regulations were issued that refer exclusively to the Bedouin tribes. In civil and crimi-
nal cases that are dealt with in Sharia courts, the principles of Islamic law are applied, usually in accordance with the
norms of the Hanbali school. However, in rural areas, tribal law still holds a strong position among the settled, semi-
settled, and nomadic populations.
As in other countries, ocial laws in Saudi Arabia are decreed from the top (i.e. from the King and his legislation).
However, other regulations developed from the bottom (i.e. from customs, traditions, and practices of the local com-
munity). Whereas law that is issued from above needs the support of a powerful centralized institution, law that arises
from customs needs broad public acceptance. Urf commands this kind of general support and respect.
Customary law earns recognition from individuals who see the advantages of behaving according to the expectations
of other members of the group to which they belong. Terefore, it does not need a powerful force to maintain law and
order, because it is based on mutual understanding and acceptance.
Interchange is the fundamental principle upon which the recognition and enforcement of customary law is based. To
In theory, all cases
should have been
solved according to
Sharia law; how-
ever, it appears that,
at times, Sharia is
supplemented with
legal measures from
other sources, here
economic regula-
tions and custom-
ary procedures re-
lated to the tribes.
52 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Maisel...
prot from its benets, one has to follow certain rules. Voluntary acceptance and participation in the enforcement be-
comes eective only when the individual sees the benets. For example, the protection of the individual and his kinship
group as well as collective property serves as an incentive for individuals to adhere to customary law. Punishment and
retaliation constitute the necessary frame, which is further shaped by deterrence and reconciliation.
Law and legal situations are ofen connected with questions of political hegemony,
where governments might form a relationship with other legal systems. In the case
of Islamic states, this relationship can be based on the acceptance of local customary
practices, their incorporation into the existing legal system, or the denial and ignoring
of customary law. Te ofen-cited complaint against customary law that it is a by-
product of colonial rule does not count in Saudi Arabia because most of the country
never experienced direct colonial rule. Te rulers of Saudi Arabia did not use custom-
ary law to combat indigenous religious law; on the contrary, they used religious justi-
cations to combat customary law. Unlike other Middle Eastern countries with smaller
tribal populations, Saudi Arabia sought to combat customary law, rather than integrate
selected positive elements. Furthermore, traditional elites were bound not by allowing them to practice their law, but by
a meticulous system of patronage and marital relations between the ruling class and its subjects.
Te customary law of the Bedouins and other tribal groups is called urf. Te Arabic word translates what is commonly
known and accepted and describes the judicial process based on legal narratives and analogies among tribal groups.
Tribal groups, formally nomadic Bedouins, maintain adherence to this code of rules dating back to pre-Islamic times.
It should also be noted that the terms Bedouin and tribal nowadays no longer refers to a certain lifestyle but to the ac-
ceptance of a special code of social values. Islamic law to a degree is based on customary norms as they were practiced
in Arabia during the pre-Islamic time. Te Prophet Muhammad, and later other legal scholars, legitimized the usage of
those customs that did not contradict Sharia and incorporated them in the large body of Islamic law.
Among important aspects of tribal law that are inconsistent with Sharia are property law (tribal territories, or dirah),
personal law (collective responsibility, marriage regulations), inheritance (womens share), criminal law (murder, honor
crimes), and conducting raids. While urf stands for the nomadic, orally transmitted, and secular world of pastoral
Bedouin tribes, Sharia is the agent for settled communities and states with their agricultural bases economy and divine,
written codex.
Tribe and state, just like nomads and settlers, live in symbiotic dependency. If the state is powerful it can extend central
authority into tribal territory and enforce Sharia. However, if the state is weak, tribal customs become widely accepted
even among settled communities and their mostly tribal members. Another, more subjective aspect depicts this dichot-
omy. While adherence to Islamic law is a question of faith and believing in the revelation of the Prophet Muhammad,
the adherence to customary law is a matter of following age-old customs and values.
Te ofen-cited com-
plaint against cus-
tomary law that
it is a byproduct of
colonial rule does
not count in Saudi
Arabia because
most of the country
never experienced
direct colonial rule.
53 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Maisel...
In many legal cases the codied Islamic law is preferred over the orally transmitted customary law, because no relevant
rules exist in urf. Te tribal law transmitted over generations however is able to deal with civil as well as with criminal
cases (i.e. those cases related to all members of the tribe). Ofen, however, judges were confronted with the issue of how
to deal with a legal system that seemed incompatible with Islamic law and that could not be abolished for practical rea-
sons. Tribal judges on the other hand have the ability to establish precedent rulings, thus merging the legislation with
the judiciary. Terefore, urf and Sharia on the local level are considered part of a common frame with the ultimate goal
not to rule by the book but with the intent to settle disputes based on reconciliation between the parties.
As a core principle, the government and religious elite in Saudi Arabia tried to dissolve
tribal structures. But neither Islamic law nor state law did abolish the tribal system and
law completely, although certain customs were successfully banned, such as infanticide,
unlimited polygamy, and the worshipping of idols. In case of revenge killing, it only
succeeded partially. However, limiting freedom of movement and action lead the tribes
toward arbitration rather than revenge because major elements of urf (asylum, alia-
tion with other tribe) no longer apply.
Until today, customary law continues to be applied informally among tribal groups dealing with internal issues. Te
shaykh or a hereditary judge of a tribal group is called on to settle internal disputes. Te basic principle of customary
law is reconciliation oering reasonable compensation for the victims side without humiliating the other. Te blood
relatives of both parties play an active part in the process. What is surprising is the level of involvement of high-ranking
government ocials and religious authorities in tribal cases. As mentioned earlier it spans from active participation as
mediators to judges ruling according to customary law.
Currently, it seems that Saudi authorities use whatever legal system best serves their purpose, making them laws of
convenience rather than laws of conviction. Whichever is the alternative, it is essential to have a legal system that is har-
monious with the overall social contract and embodies acceptable solutions to legal problems. Here is the meeting point
of the dierent legal approaches: Te majority of Saudis continue relying on them, sometimes unconsciously, because
they have worked. And if necessary, Saudi society is pragmatic seeking and incorporating multiple legal solutions.
While over the last 30 years, political and religious elites were in a constant power struggle, tribal groups were able to
gain ground on the social and judicial level.
While over the last
30 years, political
and religious elites
were in a constant
power struggle,
tribal groups were
able to gain ground
on the social and ju-
dicial level.
54 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
From Generation to Generation: Te Succession Problem in Saudi Arabia
Nabil Mouline
Dr. Nabil Mouline, Lectur-
er and Researcher, Institut
dEtudes Politiques (Sciences-
Po), Paris, is the author of Le
Califat imaginaire dAhmad
Al-Mansr [Te Imaginary
Caliphate of Ahmad Al-
Mansr] (Paris: Presses Uni-
versitaires de France, 2009).
The question of succession is the core issue of contention among the members of
the Saudi royal family. Ever since its advent in the second half of the 18
th
century, the
dynasty has been suering from this problem and been trying to overcome it, succeed-
ing as ofen as failing. Tis problem is due to the power structure inspired by the local
system of kinship.
If the rst Saudi state (~1744-1818) was characterized by a lineal-agnatic mode of
succession,
1
which favored its stability and dynamism supported by the Hanbali-Wah-
habi doctrine, the second state (1823-1891), which was founded on a more tribal base,
adopted the adelphic mode of succession, which is very common in the region. Accord-
ing to this horizontal mode of bequeathing power, only the most powerful member suc-
ceeds to the throne. Tus, all of the lineages dominant gures are peers between whom
only ability and luck can decide.
Tis mode of succession is prone to making periods of generational transition a time of
crisis, where specic lineages try to monopolize power, which ofen leads to confronta-
tions. Conict also takes place within the triumphant lineage itself. Repeated periods
of crisis engender weakness inside the dominant group, which in turn weakens the po-
litical structure as a whole, facilitating foreign meddling and undermining the edice
of the state. In other words, the patrimonial state is a state whose coherence and very
existence are brought into question with each generation.
Te history of the second Saudi state reects the troubles to which this adelphic mode
of succession and patrimonialization of the state can lead. Assassinations (murder of
the Princes Turki and Mishari), fratricidal struggles (wars between prince Faysal and
his relatives, then between his sons afer his death) as well as foreign interventions (the
Ottomans and the al-Rashid) all characterize this period. Indeed, the succession crisis
was the principal cause of the demise of the second Saudi state in 1889.
If King Abd al-Aziz was able to restore his family to the throne in 1902, he did nothing
to install a system of succession capable of protecting the Kingdom from fratricidal
struggles during times of succession. Instead, he was concerned with eliminating other
clans from competing with his sons, notably his brothers and cousins.
1. Wherein power passes to the Monarchs younger brothers before passing tot eh Monarchs
sons.
55 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Mouline...
Even though he named his son Saud as his Crown Prince, King Abd al-Aziz has installed a system that we can call
multi-domination investing several of his sons with power. Every one of them controls a sector of political, eco-
nomic, or military activity in the Kingdom. In the medium term, this division of power would bring about a multipli-
cation of centers of power. Furthermore, maintaining the adelphic system of succession has complicated intra-family
power struggles, making all descendents of Ibn Saud powerful contenders for the throne, which would produce a politi-
cal crisis when the moment of generational transition came (at his death, King Abd al-Aziz lef 34 sons).
Te rst years of the reign of Saud (1953-64) were marked by sharing power with dif-
ferent members of the family. Yet, he did not hesitate to resuscitate the old tradition of
his family: excluding other branches of the royal family from power, replacing them
with his own sons and clients. However, a coalition led by his Prime Minister and half-
brother, Prince Faysal, supported by the ulama, succeeded in overthrowing King Saud
in 1964.
Te reign of Faysal (1964-75) was marked by the consecration of the multi-domina-
tion. Since then, each Prince-Minister, Prince-Governor, as well as prince-CEO has
possessed an unlimited power over his domain. Besides the dysfunctionality on the
highest levels of the state and the pursuit of parallel and contradictory policies, multi-
domination has favored the emergence of family factions as political power centers,
as well as paving the way for the council of the royal family to become a center for
decision-making. As a consequence, for the King to have a large margin of maneuver-
ability, he needs to rely on a coalition of Princes controlling dierent sectors.
Tus, to support his policies, King Faysal relied mainly on the Sudayri faction, consisting of the seven full brothers:
Fahd, Sultan, Nayif, Salman, Abd Al-Rahman, Ahmad and Turki. Te inuence of this faction has grown without inter-
ruption, especially afer the succession of its major gure Fahd to the post of Crown Prince in 1975, then to the throne
in 1982 til 2005.
Although it appeared that the Sudayris were going to monopolize power and eliminate other branches, the second Gulf
war, initiated by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, upset this plan. In the course of this period of turbulence, King Fahd took
a certain number of stabilization measures, one of which was the 1992 Basic Law of Governance. Tis law was the rst
ocial document to provide a legal framework for the question of succession, although in laconic and evasive terms.
Section B of the fh article states that power is transmitted [uniquely] to the sons of the founder King Abd al-Azz
b. Abd al-Rahmn l Sad and his grandsons. Te most capable amongst them is named [king]. Tis passage poses
more problems than it solves. While the competition for power had, ever since the death of Abd al-Aziz, been limited
to the 34 persons (the sons still alive) which was very costly both politically and economically King Fahd opened
Even though he
named his son
Saud as his Crown
Prince, King Abd
al-Aziz has in-
stalled a system that
we can call multi-
domination in-
vesting several of
his sons with power.
Every one of them
controls a sector of
political, economic,
or military activity
in the Kingdom.
56 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Mouline...
it to numerous contenders. Tus, that rst attempt, though timid, to codify the modalities of succession integrated the
generation of the grandsons. Tis dispensation would exacerbate the tensions and augment the risks of conicts in the
long term by creating a congestion of the collateral branches of the family.
Without calling into question the preponderance of the Sudayri clan, the ten years of
the semi-regency of Prince Abdullah (1995-2005) permitted other clans to reenter the
competition. Several factions would rally around the Crown Prince, aiming to thwart
the hegemonic enterprise of Sudayris. Tis being said, the period was marked by a sta-
tus quo power balance between the dierent factions.
Abdullahs succession to the throne in 2005 has put an end automatically to the mo-
dus vivendi, which eventually revived struggles. First of all, these struggles crystallized
around the nomination of a second deputy prime minister. According to the political
tradition established in 1967, the holder of this title is considered second to the throne in the order of succession that
is to say, the future Crown Prince. Nonetheless, King Abdullah, lacking the power to name a Prince of his choice, kept
this oce vacant, as the two primary candidates, Nayif and Salman, are Sudayris.
Te success of this initial maneuver encouraged King Abdullah and his allies to go further in their pursuit: to destroy
the monopoly of the Sudayris in order to preserve the multi-domination system. Without entering in a direct confronta-
tion with the adversary camp, which would achieve the preservation of the status quo at best (since the Sudayri-s con-
trol, among other things, the Ministries of Defense and Interior, as well as the Eastern Province, the region of Tabouk,
and that of Riyadh), the King installed the Commission of Allegiance (hayat al-baya) in 2006, responsible for naming,
according to more or less precise modalities, the future sovereigns of Saudi Arabia.
If in the long run this commission is targeted at establishing an institutional framework to the problem of succession,
its main function in the short term is to name a Crown Prince, making it complicated for the Sudayris to claim the posi-
tion as well as ensuring a generational transition while maintaining the multi-domination system. In other words, the
institution aimed at perpetuating the mode of succession, passing the reins rst to all the sons of Abd al-Aziz before the
advent of the generation of grandsons.
While King Abdullah was determined to put an end to the monopoly of the Sudayris institutionally, he has continued
to reinforce his positions as well as those of his allies. Te King has attempted at rst to increase his eorts in the inter-
national domain, acquiring a maximum of symbolic resources (dialogue of religions, mediations between Palestinians
as well as between the Iraqi factions, the G-20, dierent Arab summits, etc.) in order for him to be able to reinvest them
internally.
In that regard, Abdullah beneted from the deteriorating health conditions of his Crown Prince Sultan, who was con-
Te institution
aimed at perpetu-
ating the mode of
succession, passing
the reins rst to all
the sons of Abd al-
Aziz before the ad-
vent of the genera-
tion of grandsons.
57 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Mouline...
sidered by all observers to be on the verge of death in November 2008, as well as proting from the disarray provoked
by this event in the adversary camp, to fortify his position. He tried to place his men in important posts, limiting the
inuence of the Sudayris.
Te ministerial reshue and changes in the religious institutions, the Council of Ministers, and the Consultative Coun-
cil last February, follow a power struggle, rather than a reform, dynamic, as described by certain observers. Many ex-
amples support this hypothesis, such as the appointment of his son-in-law to the Ministry of Education, of the chief
doctor of the National Guard, presided over by King Abdullah for almost 40 years, to the Ministry of Health, or of an
adviser in the Royal Court to the new presidency of the Religious Police, among other examples.
Yet, Abdullah and his partisans have underestimated the capacity of the Sudayris, who control the most important in-
stitutions in the country, and have to cope with an unexpected situation. Against all expectations, Crown Prince Sultan
has survived and is recovering, at least according to ocial statements. His full brothers, led by Nayif and Salman, have
gone on the oensive. Spreading their propaganda (in the parts of the media that take their side), increasing political
pressure (pointing to the spectrum of terrorism), as well as negotiating with the royal family, the Sudayris have gained a
considerable landmark: Nayif was named second Deputy Prime Minister in March 2009. Tat is to say, he is the future
Crown Prince.
Whatever the scenario, the question of succession remains problematic, and the fratricidal struggles threaten to escalate
when the moment of generational transition comes. Te Commission of Allegiance seems to be a tool (among many
others) put in place to channel these struggles and preserve the multi-domination system, as well as to facilitate the
transition to the second generation. However, the multiplication of contenders in the near future (with personal ties in-
creasingly weakened), which implies a multiplication of centers of inuence, cannot but fragment power, make dicult
the process of decision-making, and handicap the functionality of the state. Tat being said, all measures taken by King
Abdullah and his allies to perpetuate the multi-domination are unlikely to prevent the emergence in the medium term
of a dominant lineage, probably a Sudayri lineage that would little by little monopolize power.
58 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
III. Regional and International
Relations
59 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Saudi Arabia: Victim or Hegemon?
George Jo
George Jo is a Research
Fellow and lecturer in the
M.Phil. program of the Cen-
tre of International Studies,
University of Cambridge. He
is also Visiting Professor of
Geography at Kings College,
London University.
For the past 50 years, Saudi Arabia has been endlessly engaged in defending and ex-
panding its position in the Middle East. Tis is, in part, a function of its self-image as the
guardian of Mecca and Medina, the two holiest shrines in the Islamic world, but it also
reects its dominant role as the worlds largest repository of oil and as one of its largest
producers. Ironically, these two factors behind the Kingdoms foreign policy have made,
at times, uncomfortable bedfellows, particularly when set against its domestic politics
and foreign attitudes towards them. Yet, at the same time, one of these factors oil has
also on occasion been the driver of the other.
A CoNSErVATIVE rEGIoNAL PoWEr?
Reluctant British support during the First World War had enabled Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud
to construct the Kingdom as a political entity. However, it was American oil interest in
the early 1930s and the explicit promise of American military protection in return for
the free ow of oil, conrmed when President Franklin D. Roosevelt met the Saudi King
at the Great Bitter Lake on the Suez Canal in mid-February 1945, that marked its advent
as a regional power. For the United States, the Gulf, led by Saudi Arabia, was a stupen-
dous source of strategic power and one of the greatest material prizes in world history,
as an internal State Department memorandum expressed it in 1945,
1
which the United
States would not ultimately allow any other power to control. Saudi Arabia became, in
eect, one of the two pillars of American policy in the Gulf alongside the Shahs Iran,
which the Saudis saw as their rival for much of the 1970s and 1980s.
For Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, the alliance meant that it, in turn, could resist other
potential hegemons in the Middle East such as Nasirist Egypt, which it forced into defeat
and military withdrawal from Yemen in late 1967. Saudi support for Royalist forces there
in the 1960s, who opposed Egypts endorsement of and military aid for the Nationalist
rebellion against the Imam highlighted an aspect of Saudi policy which has since become
increasingly important. Tis was its essential conservatism, sustaining an established po-
litical order against the radicalism that the end of colonial domination in the region had
introduced, despite the fact that it was a Wahhabist state. Tis, expressed as a commit-
ment to Islamic orthodoxy as well as to established order, has been the bedrock of its ap-
proach to the wider world. It has, moreover, been successful in marginalizing radicalism
1. Cited in Joe Stork, Middle East oil and the Energy Crisis (New York: Monthly Review
Press, 1975), p. 34.
60 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Jof...
in the region, at least until the new century dawned. Ironically, the policy has had a radical side as well, for Saudi Arabia
was at the forefront of initiatives to revive Islam within Central Asia, even before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
THE ESSENTIAL AMErICAN ALLy
Despite American support for Israel, Saudi Arabia has seen this essential conservatism as part of its engagement in Amer-
icas objectives for the region, at least up to the end of the 20
th
century. Tus, combining this wider engagement with its
determination to act as the dominant power in the Gulf, it resisted Iraqi pretensions afer both the 1958 Revolution and
the Bathist coup ten years later which eventually brought Saddam Husayn to power. It also viewed with alarm the Iranian
Revolution in 1979, concerned both about Iranian claims to revolutionary religious hegemony and about the threat this
implied to American regional control. Yet, typically, when the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was created in 1980 as
a mechanism designed to exclude both Iraq and Iran from regional security, Saudi Arabia saw the new organization as a
vehicle for its own regional dominance as it has now become in economic and political terms, even if its relevance to
regional security was undermined by both the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88) and the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
Indeed, the 1980s saw the Kingdom and its American patron thrown ever closer together.
By the time Washington changed its diplomatic posture towards Iraq in 1984, Saudi Arabia
had become, alongside other Arab Gulf states, the paymaster for Iraqs military confronta-
tion with Iran. Te Kingdom also articulated its antagonism to the Soviet Union, whose
ideology was based on atheism and socialist radicalism, through mobilizing support for the
mujahidin in Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion in 1979. With covert American nancial and military support, Saudi
Arabia encouraged tens of thousands of Muslims to join the ranks of the Afghan resistance, albeit with ultimately catastrophic
consequences when committed Muslim extremists were dispersed throughout the Middle East afer the Soviet withdrawal.
Tose consequences achieved their horric apogee on September 11, 2001 with the al-Qaida attacks on New York and
Washington. Immediately aferwards, relations between the two allies nosedived, as the American media and politicians
held Saudi Arabia in some way responsible for these events, largely because a majority of those who had conducted the at-
tacks turned out to be Saudis and because Wahhabism was held to predispose young Muslims to anti-American extremism.
Te coldness in relations was underlined two years later when Saudi Arabia failed to play a major role in the American-led
invasion of Iraq, unlike the role it had played in the afermath of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. At the same time,
the United States took the opportunity to move its military command headquarters to Qatar. Since then, Saudi Arabia has
taken a highly nuanced attitude to American experiences in Iraq and has not embraced the new government in Baghdad,
largely because of the dominant role played by Iraqs Shia majority and Iraqs close relations with Iran.
THE CUrrENT SITUATIoN
Te distancing in US-Saudi relations continues, particularly afer the accession of King Abdullah to the Saudi throne in
Saudi Arabia has
taken a highly nu-
anced attitude to
American experi-
ences in Iraq.
61 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Jof...
2005 although he had been the eective leader of the country since 1996 when King Fahd suered a disabling stroke.
Te new King is anxious to see an end to the chronic problems of the Middle East, chief among them the ongoing crisis
with Israel. Terefore, in 2002 Saudi Arabia proposed a peace plan based on Israeli withdrawal to its 1967 frontiers and
the creation of a Palestinian state a proposal which received generalized support throughout the Arab world and,
latterly, from the new Obama Administration. However, Saudi sensitivities towards the United States, inamed afer
September 11, 2001, remain raw, and the Kingdom has not been prepared to facilitate American initiatives to bring
Israel to the negotiating table by spontaneous concessions to the Jewish state.
Over the past decade, especially afer the American-led invasion of Iraq and the ascent to
power in Iran of radical conservatives around Mahmud Ahmadinejad, Saudi Arabia has
become increasingly concerned about the threat of a new wave of radicalism in the Middle
East. Together with Jordan and now with Egyptian backing, it has spearheaded the con-
servative response in what has been called the New Arab Cold War. Tis sets conservative
and moderate states against the Shia arc of extremism radicals such as Iran, Syria, the
Hizbullah movement in Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza (particularly afer the latters elec-
toral victory in January 2006). Tis has created some strange linkages, such as moderate
reluctance to intervene in the crisis caused by the December 2008 Israeli Army invasion
of Gaza, despite long-standing support for Palestinian aspirations. Now that Saudi Arabias
relations with Syria have improved, perhaps these tensions will dissipate as well.
THE FUTURE
Much will depend on the attitude to be adopted by the Obama Administration towards
Arab-Israeli peace and towards Iran, the latter now identied by Riyadh as its major regional challenge. Despite Iranian
protestations that its nuclear plans are peaceful in nature, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies fear the implications of a new
nuclear power in the region and are initiating plans for nuclear power of their own. At the same time, the Kingdom does
not intend to knuckle under American demands for increases in oil production in order to force world prices down. Nor
will it abandon its leading role inside OPEC or its uneasy partnership with Iran over the future of the global oil market
which it forged in 1998 when the King, then Crown Prince, made the rst high-level ocial Saudi visit to Tehran.
Now, 30 years afer the Iranian Revolution that revived the rivalry for spiritual and political leadership in the Middle
East, Iran and Saudi Arabia still confront each other across the Gulf, divided by ideology but united by a shared concern
over their control of oil and gas as the driver of the world economy. Both strive for the attention of the worlds sole
hyperpower, despite its waning resources. Yet both are also distrustful of its embrace, one because of its revolutionary
purity and the other because of the bruising consequences of radicalism at the start of this decade. However, since nei-
ther can embrace the other as an ally, both must seek external partners to give their hegemonic ambitions meaning. For
Saudi Arabia, in short, the United States is the inevitable partner, whatever moral antagonism remains.
Over the past dec-
ade, especially afer
the American-led
invasion of Iraq and
the ascent to power
in Iran of radi-
cal conservatives
around Mahmud
Ahmadinejad,
Saudi Arabia has
become increasing-
ly concerned about
the threat of a new
wave of radicalism
in the Middle East.
62 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Saudi Arabia and Iran: Less Antagonism, More Pragmatism
Paul Aarts and Joris van Duijne
Paul Aarts teaches Interna-
tional Relations at the Uni-
versity of Amsterdam. His
publications include Saudi
Arabia in the Balance: Po-
litical Economy, Society,
Foreign Aairs (New York
University Press 2006, edited
with Gerd Nonneman). His
homepage is http://home.me-
dewerker.uva.nl/p.w.h.aarts.
The siege of the Grand Mosque in November 1979 came on the heels of the Islamic
Revolution in Iran. Juhayman al-Utaybi, the leader of the rebels, though, seemed not be
very much inspired by what had happened next door. Whatever he may have noticed
from Irans turmoil and it might not have been too much because he never watched
TV and rarely browsed newspapers he deemed it to be irrelevant because Iranians
were Shiites, incorrigibly stuck in their heretic beliefs. It should, however, be noted that
the 30-year period since the Al Saud faced the rebels in Mecca does correspond to the
era in which it has had to deal with a revolutionary Islamic regime in its Shia-Persian
neighborhood. Te parallel stretches further than timing: in much the same way as the
seizure of the Grand Mosque can be seen as a crisis of credibility for the Saudi royal fam-
ilys role as the legitimate protector of the holy sites, and Islam in general, the Islamic
Republic presented similar challenges to this role conception. Arguably both of these
events and subsequent incidents and discussions prompted King Fahd to change
his title into Custodian of the Two Holy Sites of Mecca and Medina some seven years
later. But close observation of these two challenges (domestic and foreign) today reveal
a fundamentally dierent image: while the latter is virtually non-existent, the former
has proven much more persistent and particularly problematic for the House of Saud
(Bin Ladin, al-Khobar in 1997, and the events of 2003/2004 to name but a few exam-
ples). While the development of domestic Islamist challenges will be covered elsewhere
in this volume, our aim is to shed some light on why the Iranian revolutionary credo has
not developed into a persistent attack on Saudi credibility.

While the Saudi leadership initially, and typical of its non-confrontational and con-
sensual political style, congratulated Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on his victory, it
soon became evident that Saudi Arabia and Iran would be diametrically opposed dur-
ing much of the 1980s. Khomeini labeled the Saudi regime as puppets of the West
and traitors to the cause of protection of the sanctuaries, while Saudi labels for the
regime in Tehran included agents of Satan, a corrupt bunch of thieves and fascists.
Te downward spiral between the Kingdom and Iran was remarkable in its political
consequences: while such accusations ofen remain ideological, this time they resulted
in Saudi Arabia supporting Iraq in its war against Iran (1980-1988), frequent confron-
tations regarding the hajj (culminating in the violent clashes of 1987), and the virtual
absence of diplomatic relations during much of this period.
But following this turmoil, a degree of pragmatism slowly evolved, pushing Saudi-Ira-
Joris van Duijne holds an
MA in International Rela-
tions from the University of
Amsterdam and has recently
published several articles
on Gulf politics, including
Joris van Duijne and Paul
Aarts, Saudi-Iranian Ties:
Stocktaking and Look into
the Future (Durham, UK:
SGIARWP 08-4, August
2008). He also works at Free
Voice.
63 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Aarts and van Duijne...
nian relations into greater engagement rather than confrontation. It ofen has been suggested that the thaw in the bi-
lateral relationship was due to the policies of both former President Muhammad Khatami and King Abdullah. In fact,
however, the rapprochement was initiated many years earlier. Even before the death of Khomeini, many in the Iranian
establishment, including Hashemi Rafsanjani, opted for regional rapprochement (also in light of post-war reconstruc-
tion). Meanwhile, the Saudis felt more threatened by the triumphalism of Saddam Husayn, especially afer his invasion
of Kuwait, than by an Iran in ruins.
But while hostilities faded away, relations failed to improve beyond a limited degree of cautious pragmatism. Te most
persistent and obvious reason for this is the fact that Saudi Arabia and Iran have diametrically opposed relations with
the United States: being in dierent global political camps hardly helps in developing friendly, neighborly ties. But there
are other reasons as well. Mounting economic problems and erce competition within OPEC during much of the 1990s
also contributed to this limitation. Some would point to sectarian dierences the fact that Saudi Arabia is Sunni and
Iran is Shia though we question the impact of this because sectarianism and ideology mostly shape relations, but do
not dene them.
While, until now, the main factor inuencing bilateral ties (relations with the US) has
remained unchanged, there have been signicant changes in Gulf aairs that inuence
Saudi-Iranian relations. First, of course, is the toppling of Saddam Husayn from power,
which, at least for the near future, signicantly altered the power balance in the Gulf.
In this context, but also more generally speaking, the impact of Sunni-Shia rivalry is
again too ofen mentioned in analyses. It should be noted that since the launching of
the war against Iraq in 2003, and in particular during Mahmud Ahmadinejads presi-
dency, the Islamic Republic has pursued an explicitly nonsectarian public diplomacy
toward Arab audiences. Looking at Irans two most prominent foreign policy issues,
the Palestinian cause and confronting Washingtons hegemonic schemes in the region,
there surely is nothing particularly Shia about them. In this respect, one could even
argue that Irans foreign policy is Sunni. Riyadh realizes this and acts accordingly by, at
least sometimes, distancing itself from Washington, thereby trying to regain credibility in the vital ght against Tehran
for Arab hearts and minds. Instead of focusing on so-called sectarian battles, it is relevant to notice that Iran and Saudi
Arabia share a vested interest in a stable, unied, peaceful but not too strong Iraq and thus both still recognize the need
of the earlier established bilateral pragmatism.
Another signicant shif is in the economic realm. While Iran is still experiencing much the same economic diculties
as during the 1990s, Saudi Arabia has been able to develop a large industrial sector in mainly carbon-based elds such
as petrochemicals and fertilizers. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia, unlike Iran, has proven able to attract large scale and long-
term foreign investments for these sectors and is investing its petrodollar surpluses increasingly intra-regionally. While
Iran is still in dire need of such investments, it has one particular commodity that it can oer to the Saudis: natural gas.
It is relevant to no-
tice that Iran and
Saudi Arabia share
a vested interest
in a stable, uni-
ed, peaceful but
not too strong Iraq
and thus both still
recognize the need
of the earlier es-
tablished bilateral
pragmatism.
64 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Aarts and van Duijne...
Iran holds some 15.5% of the worlds proven reserves, but has particularly low production rates. It needs capital and
expertise to boast this production. Riyadh, on the other hand, will increasingly experience a shortage of natural gas
(unless large gas elds will be found in the Rub al-Khali, which at present seems unlikely), particularly for the above-
mentioned development of its petrochemical sector. Tere is room for an economic quid pro quo: Saudi investments in
return for natural-gas supplies.
It is unlikely that this economic marriage will be consummated any time soon. Counter-intuitively, however, what
might bring it closer to fruition is a thawing of relations between Washington and Tehran. Saudi Arabia and the other
Arab states realize that the United States needs Iran to play a constructive role in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Arab-Israeli
arena. More importantly, the nuclear dossier is high on the agenda, and needs to be tackled in an even-handed way.
Instead of fearing an eventual US-Iranian strategic collusion, coming at the expense of Saudi Arabia, there are policy
choices for Riyadh to mitigate the notion of a supposedly negative fait accompli.
1
What we might envisage, afer an
American-Iranian rapprochement, is a new kind of triangle between the United States, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Tis
triangle a more balanced and more harmonious one than in the recent past would be predicated on the abandon-
ment of the two-against-one logic that has persisted for so long. Saudi interests would best be served if those involved
took all these considerations into account, both the positive and the negative. While it is easy to fear Iranian or even
Shia dominance, it is more fruitful to imagine what a less isolated Iran would look like and what the potential benets
of normalizing relations might be.
1. For an elaboration on this, see Paul Aarts and Joris van Duijne, Saudi Arabia afer US-Iranian Dtente: Lef in the Lurch?
Middle East Policy, Vol. 16, No. 3 (2009), pp. 64-78.
65 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
How Salasm Came to Yemen: An Unknown Legacy of Juhayman al-
Utaybi 30 Years On
Laurent Bonnefoy
Laurent Bonnefoy is a CNrS/
ANR post-doctoral fellow at
the Institut de Recherches et
dEtudes sur le Monde Arabe
et Musulman (IREMAM
University of Provence,
France).
Since it emerged in Yemen around three decades ago, the countrys Sala movement
has maintained complex, if not tense links with Saudi Arabia.
1
Before establishing a
Yemeni manifestation of Salasm with its own features and clerics, Muqbil al-Wadii (d.
July 2001), a tribesman from the highlands of Saada in North Yemen, had been educated
in the 1960s and 1970s in the main Saudi religious institutes (including the famous Is-
lamic University of Medina). Troughout his time in the Saudi Kingdom, al-Wadii had
become an important actor in the Jamaa al-Salayya al-Muhtasiba movement, whose
oshoot led the 1979 uprising in Mecca.
2
Due to his personal relations with Juhayman
al-Utaybi and his alleged inuence on the latters writings particularly his famous
letters questioning the legitimacy of the monarchy al-Wadii had been expelled from
Saudi territory a few months prior to the Ikhwan rebellion in the Great Mosque. Back
in Yemen, he established his own teaching institute in the outskirts of Saada city: Dar
al-Hadith, which rapidly became successful, attracting many students from Yemen and
abroad, including Europe and America.
Despite numerous invitations by renowned scholars during the 1980s and 1990s and
possible funding of the Sala institutes by Saudi individuals and institutions, al-Wadii
only agreed to return to Saudi Arabia just before his death to receive treatment and of-
cially reconcile with the Saudi rulers.
3
Tis nal reconciliation came as a surprise to
many, as it appeared to contradict much of the position on the Saudi regime that the Ye-
meni cleric had taken for most his life. To seal such an apparent renunciation, al-Wadi
was buried in Mecca close to the graves of the great Saudi ulama Abd al-Aziz bin Baz
and Muhammad al-Uthaymin.
While other mechanisms, notably transnational proselytism and a shif in religious iden-
tities, obviously played a central role in the development of Salasm in Yemen, Muqbil
al-Wadiis eviction in the late 1970s and the Meccan uprising both appear as decisive
events that have long shaped the specic doctrine of Yemeni Salasm. Indeed, repres-
1. Laurent Bonnefoy, Salasm in Yemen: A Saudisation? in Madawi al-Rasheed ed.,
Kingdom without Borders: Saudi Arabias Political, Religious and Media Frontiers (London:
Hurst, 2008), pp. 245-262.
2. Tomas Hegghammer and Stephane Lacroix, Rejectionist Islamism in Saudi Arabia: Te
Story of Juhayman al-Utaybi Revisited, Te International Journal of Middle East Studies,
Vol. 39, No. 1 (2007), pp. 97-116.
3. Muqbil al-Wadii, Mushahadai i al-Mamlaka al-Arabiyya al-Saudiyya (Sanaa : Dar al-
athar, 2005).
66 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Bonnefoy...
sion of the Salas by the Saudi government at that time durably aected al-Wadiis relation to politics and reinforced
his criticism of the Saudi leadership. Over time, these two features have been the main hallmarks of the Yemeni brand of
Salasm and have contributed to its success beyond its borders. Al-Wadiis brutal eviction justied in his own eyes his
condemnation of Saudi policies and contributed to his image as an uncompromising scholar. Despite his own ambigui-
ties when it came to criticizing the Yemeni regime, such independence from the Saudi monarchy appeared particularly
appealing to activists who disregarded the endorsement of certain Saudi policies (e.g., the presence of American and
allied troops during the Gulf War in 1990-91 and aferwards) by prominent clerics such as Abd al-Aziz bin Baz, Mufi
of the Kingdom.

When recalling his relationship with al-Utaybi, al-Wadii asserted that while he dis-
agreed with the Ikhwans strategy and the fact they had taken weapons inside the Mec-
can shrine (something that was explicitly forbidden by Islamic jurisprudence), he felt
that it was the Saudi governments repression that should be blamed, as violence by
al-Utaybi and his supporters only came as a reaction to arrests and torture carried out
by the government.
4
Furthermore, al-Wadi, in his various books and conferences, ap-
peared to remain consistent with key elements of the Ikhwans doctrine.
5
Although the
messianic dimension of al-Utaybis enterprise and the importance of the mahdi do not
appear as central for its activists, the Yemeni Sala movement rst built around Muqbil
al-Wadi shared much with the Jamaa al-Salayya al-Muhtasiba. Te fact that al-Wadi
was accused of being the ghost writer of Juhayman al-Utaybis letters reinforces the im-
pression of such doctrinal proximity and might explain the features of Yemeni Salasm.
Indeed, criticism of the Saudi state as expressed in al-Wadiis writings during the 1980s
and early 1990s echo much of al-Utaybis argument in his 1978 letter, Te State, Al-
legiance and Obedience, in which he argues that the Al Saud are illegitimate, as they
are not from the Quraysh, and accuses them of being Christian allies.
6
Nevertheless, he writes, despite their corruption,
Saudi rulers, like all Muslim leaders, are not to be excommunicated: takr is thus forbidden. Furthermore, al-Wadiis ex-
treme social conservatism his rejection of pictures, music, and his claim that it was illegitimate for someone to work
as a civil servant or to serve in the Yemen army as well as some unorthodox interpretations of the texts (for instance,
he claimed that it was possible to pray whilst wearing shoes
7
) were all consistent with al-Utaybis doctrine.
In a way, the Yemeni branch of Salasm nevertheless seems to have learned from al-Utaybis mistakes and adopted a
clearer stance towards loyalty to the ruler, particularly the Yemeni leadership, thus escaping from potential repression
and abandoning revolutionary plans. Instead of directly confronting the ruler, al-Wadii considered that it was neces-
4. Muqbil al-Wadii, Ijbat al-sil al ahamm al-masil (Sanaa: Maktabat al-athariyya, 2004).
5. Muqbil al-Wadii, Al-Makhraj min al-Fitna (Sanaa: Maktabat al-athariyya, 2002).
6. Muqbil al-Wadii, recorded conference, Al-ilhad al-Khumayni Ard al-haramayn (no date).
7. Franois Burgat and Mohammed Sbitli, Les salas au Ymen ou la modernisation malgr tout, Chroniques Ymnites,
No. 10 (2003), pp. 123-152.
In a way, the Yemeni
branch of Salasm
nevertheless seems
to have learned
from al-Utaybis
mistakes and adopt-
ed a clearer stance
towards loyalty
to the ruler, par-
ticularly the Yemeni
leadership, thus es-
caping from poten-
tial repression and
abandoning revolu-
tionary plans.
67 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Bonnefoy...
sary to be loyal to the political system in order to prevent the country from falling into chaos. He then asserted that state
policies could be oriented through the secret advice of ulama to the rulers.
Muqbil al-Wadiis death in July 2001 and his fresh reconciliation with the Saudi authorities, along with political devel-
opments linked to the global war on terror in Yemen, led to a kind of normalization of the Sala movement in that
country. Most of its leading gures Yahya al-Hajuri, Muhammad al-Imam, and Abu al-Hasan al-Maribi appear
to have abandoned along the way some of the specicities of muqbilian-style Salasm. Tey have done so either by
adopting a more conventional apolitical stance that is reminiscent of the doctrine of the ulama of the Saudi religious
establishment or by growing more and more political and being inuenced by the Sahwa movement or even the Mus-
lim Brotherhood. In a way, this whole and complex normalization process meant abandoning much of the heritage of
Juhayman al-Utaybi, therefore ending a cycle and obliterating the indirect inuence that the Ikhwan movement has
had on Yemeni Salasm.
68 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Saudi-Russian Relations: 1979-2009
Mark N. Katz
Mark N. Katz, Professor of
Government and Politics at
George Mason University, is
a specialist on Russian for-
eign policy toward the Mid-
dle East. His articles on this
subject have appeared in Te
Middle East Journal, Mid-
dle East Policy, Middle East
Quarterly, Middle East Re-
view of International Aairs,
Mideast Monitor, Problems
of Post-Communism, Cur-
rent History, and elsewhere.
He is a regular contributor
to Eurasianet http://www.
eurasianet.org and to Middle
East Strategy at Harvard
blogs.law.harvard.edu/mesh.
In 1979, Saudi-Russian relations were extremely poor. Te two countries did not even
have diplomatic relations nor had they since the 1930s. Many observers regarded So-
viet military support for Marxist regimes in Ethiopia, South Yemen, and Afghanistan as
ultimately aimed at surrounding the oil-rich Kingdom and bringing about the downfall
of its US-allied ruling family. Te Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the uncertainty
about whether the Iranian Revolution might evolve in a Marxist direction only served
to intensify the perception of a Soviet threat to the Kingdom.
By 2009, though, Saudi-Russian relations have grown as friendly as they have ever been.
Moscow long ago stopped supporting a network of Marxist revolutionary regimes or
intervening militarily in the vicinity of Saudi Arabia. Tere have been a series of high-
prole visits by senior leaders of the two countries, including one by then-Crown Prince
Abdullah to Moscow in September 2003 and another by then-President Vladimir Putin
to Riyadh in February 2007. Te Kingdom even hosted the Kremlin-appointed strong-
man in Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, in 2007 and 2008. In addition, Lukoil and other
Russian rms are now operating in Saudi Arabia. A signicant trade relationship has
developed between the two countries. Tere also have been many reports about how
Riyadh may soon start buying weapons from Russia.
Tis improvement in Saudi-Russian relations, though, was quite slow in coming. Despite
the overall improvement in Moscows ties with the West that occurred under Mikhail
Gorbachev, Saudi Arabia and the USSR did not restore diplomatic relations until afer
Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Despite supercially improved ties in the early 1990s,
Saudi-Russian relations deteriorated again by the mid-1990s. Riyadh grew concerned
about Russian arms sales to Tehran as well as support for Irans atomic energy program
(which many feared would lead to its acquisition of nuclear weapons). For their part,
Russian ocials and commentators openly accused Riyadh of supporting the Chechen
rebels and of seeking to spread Wahabism among Muslims in Russia and other former
Soviet republics. Te countries also had competing interests in the oil sphere: Russia
sought to increase both its production and exports, while Saudi Arabia wanted Russia to
join, and abide by production limits set by, the Organization of the Petroleum Export-
ing Countries (OPEC).
By the time of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, Saudi-
Russian relations had grown very tense. President Putins reaction to 9/11 was not only
69 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Katz...
to seize this as an opportunity to improve Russian-American relations, but to encourage Americans to see themselves as
being in a common struggle with Russians against what Moscow portrayed as Saudi-backed Sunni terrorists. However,
by 2003, Russian-American and Saudi-American relations had begun to deteriorate, as both Moscow and Riyadh op-
posed the launching of the war in Iraq. Over the course of 2003, Saudi-Russian relations improved, culminating in the
visit of Crown Prince Abdullah to Moscow in September of that year. Many observers now saw Putin as attempting to
ally with the Kingdom against the United States.
Perhaps a more important contribution to the improvement in the Saudi-Russian rela-
tionship than their common opposition to US policy toward Iraq was the switch made
by Riyadh from criticizing to actually supporting Moscows policy in Chechnya. Espe-
cially afer the 2003 al-Qaida-launched attacks inside Saudi Arabia, Moscow and Ri-
yadh appeared to increasingly recognize each other as allies against a common enemy.
Te dramatic rise in the price of oil throughout most of the 2000s also helped to ease
Moscow-Riyadh tensions over Russian oil production levels.
Some feared that improved Saudi-Russian relations at a time when Saudi-American
relations were strained could lead to Riyadh seeking more security assistance from
Moscow and less from Washington. Tis, however, has not happened. Te Saudis have
no illusions about Russia being able to replace America as the Kingdoms principal
defender. Nor does Moscow appear to seek this role. Despite the sharp deterioration
that has occurred in Russian-American relations, Moscow seems to recognize that the
continued close Saudi-American security relations actually benet Russia. Moscow simply is not in a position to defend
the Kingdom or Russias growing economic interests there. Further, Moscow recognizes that the most likely replace-
ment for a government in Saudi Arabia that is closely allied to the United States is not one that is closely allied to Russia,
but a radical Islamist regime that is as virulently hostile toward Russia as it is toward the West.

But while there has been a dramatic improvement in Saudi-Russian relations since 2003, there are also important dif-
ferences between the two countries. Moscow is frustrated that Saudi Arabia has not awarded contracts to more Russian
rms to operate inside the Kingdom. And despite all the media reports over the last few years that the Kingdom is about
to place large orders for Russian arms, it has not done so. Te Saudis, for their part, are unhappy about the role Russia
continues to play in providing both arms and nuclear know-how to Riyadhs regional rival, Iran. According to some
Russian press reports in 2008, Riyadh has linked Saudi arms purchases from Russia to Moscow distancing itself from
Tehran. Prime Minister Putin, though, made clear that this was not something Russia would do. Each side appears to
hope that the other will back down, but so far neither has.
In addition, the decline in the price of oil from the dramatic high it reached in mid-2008 has resulted in renewed ten-
sions over Russian oil production levels. Moscow has hinted that it might join OPEC, but has not actually done so. In
Moscow recognizes
that the most likely
replacement for
a government in
Saudi Arabia that is
closely allied to the
United States is not
one that is closely
allied to Russia, but
a radical Islamist
regime that is as
virulently hostile
toward Russia as it
is toward the West.
70 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Katz...
March 2009, inuential Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin told a meeting of OPEC ministers that Moscow
might send a permanent representative to the OPEC Secretariat a step that is clearly far short of Russia becoming a
member and abiding by OPEC production limits.
Finally, if the recent increase in Muslim insurgent activity in the North Caucasus continues, this could sour Saudi-
Russian relations. Unable to acknowledge that harsh Russian government policies and xenophobic Russian popular at-
titudes toward Muslims are contributing to the upsurge of violence in the North Caucasus, Russians are likely to revert
to blaming outside forces, including Saudi Arabia, regardless of whether such blame is justied. Still, it is possible that
the situation in the North Caucasus will not deteriorate, or that Saudi-Russian relations will not suer even if it does
especially if Riyadh continues to express support and understanding for Moscows eorts to deal with domestic terror-
ists (as Riyadh has done in recent years). Tere may be a limit, though, to the extent that Riyadh can do this, especially
if sympathy for the Muslims of the North Caucasus grows in the rest of the Muslim world.
Tus, while relations between Saudi Arabia and Russia have grown friendlier since 2003, there are important dier-
ences either active or latent between them that serve to limit how close their ties can become. Tough Moscow
and Riyadh are not hostile toward one another, as they had been in 1979 and continued to be for many years thereafer,
they have not become allies. Nor are they likely to.
71 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Cooperation under the Radar: Te US-Saudi Arabian Joint Economic
Commission (JECOR)
Tomas W. Lippman
Tomas W. Lippman is Ad-
junct Senior Fellow for Mid-
dle East Studies, Council on
Foreign Relations and the
author of Inside the Mirage:
Americas Fragile Partner-
ship With Saudi Arabia.
Economists and political analysts who write about Saudi Arabia ofen say that the
most dicult part of their research is nding accurate statistics about the Kingdom.
Population, food production, water resources, oil and gas reserves, industrial output
many kinds of data that are essential to sound planning and accurate evaluation cannot
be taken at face value, especially if they are generated by Saudi government agencies.
Te reasons for the statistical imprecision vary from department to department. In an
environment where the government is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the ruling family
and there is no accountability to the public or any elected body, statistics may be ma-
nipulated for political reasons. Some of the data anomalies arise from a lack of coordi-
nation between dierent government departments. Te most important numbers of all,
oil production and crude oil reserves, are probably accurate, but they are entirely under
the control of Saudi Aramco, the state oil company, and the Ministry of Petroleum
making them impossible to independently verify.
When I was reporting from Saudi Arabia in the late 1970s as regional correspondent for
Te Washington Post, this state of aairs was taken for granted. Drowning in a Niagara
of oil cash, Saudi Arabia was growing at a rate that far outstripped its administrative ca-
pabilities. Tat it is still true to some extent today represents, in an odd way, the failure
of a novel and little-known US government initiative.
By the late 1970s, American civil servants (employees of the US federal government)
were ensconced in several Saudi government departments instructing their counter-
parts on how to conduct the publics business in a modern state.
In 1979, a 28-member team from the US Census Bureau was teaching the Saudis meth-
ods of statistical compilation, under a ten-year, $36.5 million contract. Other Americans
were providing instruction in nancial data collection, agriculture and water research,
accounting standards, banking methods, and applied research capabilities. Statisti-
cians trained at the University of Maryland were teaching the Saudis how to compile a
consumer price index and take an accurate census. Troughout the Saudi government,
Americans were like evangelists, preaching the importance of accurate data.
Te Americans understood that accurate statistics are essential to a modern state. Al-
72 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Lippman...
location of resources for housing and education, development planning, agriculture and water planning and economic
analysis depend on them. But to the Saudis of the 1970s, these functions were understood only dimly, if at all.
Saudis now remember 1979 as a dicult year because of distressing political events at home and overseas: the Iranian
Revolution, the extremist takeover of the Great Mosque in Mecca, Shiite rioting in the Eastern Province, and the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan. But at the same time, Saudi Arabia in 1979 was becoming unimaginably wealthy. Te country
literally had more money than it could spend because of the great oil price surge that began with the Arab embargo of
1973-74, which sent the Kingdoms revenue skyrocketing.
At the beginning of the decade, in 1970, Saudi crude oil had sold for $1.39 per barrel.
By January 1974, the price was $8.32. Te price kept rising throughout the decade,
eventually reaching $32, and state revenue rose with it because consumers kept buying
anyway. Te Saudi governments annual oil income, less than $4 billion a year early in
the decade, would peak at almost $102 billion by 1981. Te government undertook gi-
ant infrastructure projects all over the country, but still the cash owed in faster than
it could be spent.
Te Americans who were seconded into the Saudi government were there as part of a
grand design engineered by William E. Simon, President Richard Nixons last Treasury
Secretary, to channel as much of that money as possible back to the United States.
Simon was Deputy Secretary until he was promoted into the top job on May 8, 1974
just three months before Nixons resignation in the Watergate scandal. He stayed on as
Secretary under Nixons successor, Gerald R. Ford.
Despite the distractions of Watergate, the spring of 1974 was a crucial period in US-Arab relations. Agreements negoti-
ated by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in his famous shuttle diplomacy had ended the hostilities of the 1973 war
and stabilized the battleelds of Egypt, Syria, and Israel. Te United States restored diplomatic relations with Egypt.
With the end of hostilities, the Arab oil producers, led by Saudi Arabia, ended their wartime embargo on exports to the
United States. In that newly favorable atmosphere, Nixon embarked on a last-hurrah trip to the region. While in Saudi
Arabia, he agreed to the creation of a US-Saudi Arabian Joint Economic Commission, known as JECOR. Tis was Si-
mons brainchild.
JECORs mission was twofold: rst, to teach the Saudis who had no tradition of organized public agencies how to
operate the fundamental bureaucracy of a modern state; and second, to ensure that all the contracts awarded in pursuit
of that mission went to American companies. JECOR would operate for 25 years, channeling billions of Saudi oil dollars
back to the United States, but would attract almost no attention in this country because Congress ignored it. Te Saudis
were paying for it, so there was no need for US appropriations or congressional oversight.
Te Americans who
were seconded into
the Saudi govern-
ment were there
as part of a grand
design engineered
by William E.
Simon, President
Richard Nixons last
Treasury Secretary,
to channel as much
of that money as
possible back to the
United States.
73 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Lippman...
Te Commissions objectives were listed in a joint statement issued by the American and Saudi ocials who created
it: Its purposes will be to promote programs of industrialization, trade, manpower training, agriculture, and science
and technology. Te participating Saudi government agencies would be the Ministries of Foreign Aairs, Finance and
National Economy, Commerce, and Industry, and the Central Planning Organization, soon to become the Ministry of
Planning. On the US side, the managing agency was Simons Treasury Department, not the Agency for International
Development, because it was not a traditional foreign aid program it was a money-management program.
Given the novelty of the arrangement and the complexity of the programs to be under-
taken, it took some time for JECOR to become fully operational. By 1979, with Jimmy
Carter in the White House, the Commission was in high gear.
Each day some 250 American civil servants GS-9s and 11s seconded by their
departments at home would go to work in their counterpart agencies in Saudi Arabia,
sitting with Saudi colleagues, oering tutorials, advice, and the knowledge of their ex-
perience. Tey worked, in English, from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the Saudi government
work day, then went back to the JECOR oce to write reports and supervise the trans-
lation of documents. Te oce was not part of the US Embassy because it was an arm
of the Treasury Department, and the JECOR team ofen made a point of keeping the
Embassy uninformed.
By 1979, JECOR was not just providing instruction but taking on the management of
specic projects, such as the creation of a national network of vocational training schools and even the development
of the countrys rst national park, in the Asir region of the mountainous southwest. Tose were missions the Saudis
understood and appreciated; the compilation and distribution of statistics was another matter.
Te government objected, for example, when an America-designed plan for creating a consumer price index included
the price of gold as one of the commodities to be measured. Te Saudis thought it would be politically ill-advised to
aunt their wealth by including gold, even though it was a staple of family wealth. Saudis whom the Americans were
training in census techniques had a dierent problem: there was no credible or socially acceptable method of tabulating
female citizens.
Tree decades later, Saudi Arabia is by all technological measurements a fully modern country, and the Saudis no longer
need the type of instructional input they were getting in 1979. JECOR went out of business, with no formal announce-
ment by either country, at the end of Bill Clintons presidency. Te JECOR teams accomplished a great deal in terms of
bringing the instruments of government in Saudi Arabia into the modern world of nation-states; but reliable statistics
are still sometimes elusive, which should not be surprising considering the numbers are controlled by ocials who have
an interest in what they show.
Each day some 250
American civil serv-
ants GS-9s and
11s seconded
by their depart-
ments at home
would go to work in
their counterpart
agencies in Saudi
Arabia, sitting with
Saudi colleagues,
oering tutori-
als, advice, and the
knowledge of their
experience.
74 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Lippman...
Earlier this year, for example, Patrice Flynn, a labor economist working at Eat University in Jeddah, wrote a brief essay
on the labor market for the US-Saudi Arabia Business Council, a private group. How many Saudis are working? How
many are unemployed? What are the gures for women? How many foreign workers are there? She drew two conclu-
sions: It depends on the year in which the statistics were compiled, and It depends on the data source because the
numbers issued by dierent departments ofen cannot be reconciled.
Te Saudis have begun preparations for a new nationwide census in 2010. Te announced results of all previous cen-
suses have been greeted with skepticism by demographers and economists outside the Kingdom. If the new one fares
better, JECORs lessons will nally have been absorbed.

75 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Saudi-American Relations
F. Gregory Gause, III
F. Gregory Gause, III is Pro-
fessor of Political Science at
the University of Vermont
and author of Te Interna-
tional Relations of the Per-
sian Gulf (Cambridge Uni-
versity Press, 2010). In 2009-
10 he is Kuwait Foundation
Visiting Professor of Interna-
tional Aairs at the Kennedy
School of Government, Har-
vard University.
The past 30 years of the Saudi-American relationship have seen highs of intense geo-
political cooperation and the lows of the post-September 11, 2001 period. What has
tied those ups and downs together is the uctuating relationship between both govern-
ments and the transnational Sala Islamist movement. Both governments fostered the
movement domestically in Saudi Arabia and as an international force during the
Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Both have seen the movement shif
from a tool of their foreign policies to a threat. Ironically, this common sense of threat,
which was not clear immediately afer the 9/11 attacks, helped Washington and Riyadh
to restore some equilibrium to the bilateral relationship.
Te Iranian Revolution presented the United States and Saudi Arabia with a common
enemy. At the time, US and Saudi leaders thought that Saudi Arabias role in the Sun-
ni Muslim world could be a useful ideological counter to the revolutionary and anti-
American Shii Islamist platform put forward by the new regime in Tehran. Te Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan provided the perfect opportunity to demonstrate to the Mus-
lim world that the Saudi version of Sunni Islam could mobilize transnational support as
well, in a cause that was both consistent with American Cold War strategy and a chal-
lenge to Irans claim to Muslim leadership. Mobilizing Salasts appeared to oer both
sponsors far greater benets than risks: Te Saudis had based their domestic legitima-
tion strategy upon Salasm/Wahhabism for centuries, and had used Islam more gener-
ally as a counter to Nassers Arab nationalism in the 1960s, while the United States had
seen Islam as a Cold War ally, despite the anti-American turn in revolutionary Iran.
In hindsight, however, it is clear that Saudi and American leaders should not have been
so sanguine about their ability to channel and control transnational Sala Islamism.
Te takeover of the Grand Mosque in Mecca by Juhayman al-Utaybi and his followers,
in retrospect, was a warning shot across the bow of both governments. Al-Utaybi criti-
cized the Saudis for their laxity and their close relations with an indel power (i.e., the
United States) in terms that would echo in the pronouncements of Usama bin Ladin in
the 1990s and 2000s. At the time, however, the tendency was to dismiss the takeover as a
fringe manifestation of Muslim millenarianism, and certainly no reason to reassess the
strategy of mobilizing Sunni Salasm and kindling the spirit of jihad against the Soviets
in Afghanistan.
76 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Gause...
Te strategy worked at least when viewed from the 1990s. Soviet forces were driven out of Afghanistan; the Iranian
revolutionary momentum was blunted (as much by Saddam Husayn in the Iran-Iraq War as by anything else, though
both Saudi Arabia and the US helped him); the Cold War was won by the Americans, with support from their friends
in Riyadh and elsewhere.
Te Gulf War of 1990-91 was the high point of Saudi-American cooperation. Using
the military and civilian infrastructure built by Saudi petro-dollars and American con-
struction companies in the 1970s and 1980s, the United States deployed a force of half
a million troops to Saudi Arabia, sucient to turn back Saddams invasion of Kuwait
and restore the Persian Gulf status quo. Only in retrospect can we see that these two
great successes of Saudi-American strategic cooperation laid the foundation for the
9/11 attacks.
Te spirit of Sala jihadism ignited by Afghanistan and focused on the United States
(at least in part) by the 1990-91 Gulf War, which came to be personied by Usama
bin Ladin, was an inconvenience and an irritant in the Saudi-American relationship
in the 1990s, but not a major issue. Te Saudis suppressed domestic Sala opposition
voices which were raised during the Gulf War, but chose not to take on the more gen-
eral phenomenon of transnational Sala jihadism, which found recruits and funding
within the Kingdom. Tey tried, instead, to channel it into what Riyadh saw as rela-
tively innocuous fronts: Bosnia, Chechnya, and back to Afghanistan. Te political cost
of confronting Sala jihadism directly ideologically and organizationally was too
dicult politically. It would have entailed the formidable task of redening Salasm at home, which had come to be
tightly entwined with the idea of jihad, and thus potentially disruptive to the institutions and the ideas of Wahhabism,
which had been a pillar of the regimes stability.
Afer al-Qaidas bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, the Sala jihadist issue began to
cause tensions in the Saudi-American relationship. With the 9/11 attacks, it became the central issue in the greatest cri-
sis the relationship experienced since the 1973-74 oil embargo, if not since the inception of the relationship. Te United
States expected the Saudi leadership to conduct a searching self-examination about its ideological, organizational, and
nancial role in the development of Sala jihadism (conveniently avoiding any public self-examination about its own
role in the process). Te Saudis went into a defensive crouch, denying any connection between the Kingdom and Usama
bin Ladin, his ideas, or his organization. While it was clear that the Saudi government had had nothing to do with the
attacks themselves, Riyadhs unwillingness to confront its indirect role in the development of bin Ladins movement
inamed American public opinion. Saudi public opinion, never particularly pro-American because of the Arab-Israeli
issue, among other things, reacted very negatively to the American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Tese were the mak-
ings of a serious rif, if not a rupture in the bilateral relationship.
Soviet forces were
driven out of
Afghanistan; the
Iranian revolution-
ary momentum was
blunted (as much by
Saddam Husayn in
the Iran-Iraq War
as by anything else,
though both Saudi
Arabia and the US
helped him); the
Cold War was won
by the Americans,
with support from
their friends in
Riyadh and else-
where.
77 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Gause...
Yet, such a rupture did not happen, for two reasons. First, in 2003 al-Qaida began a campaign in Saudi Arabia itself
against the regime. Te 2003 terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia, more than those of 2001, mobilized the Saudi regime to
take an active role in confronting the Sala jihadist movement. Te highest prole element of that campaign was a se-
curity oensive that started out haltingly but eventually succeeded in taking the ght to its domestic Sala opponents.
Less noticed in the United States was the sustained ideological eort by the regime to delegitimate bin Ladins ideas.
Te Saudis not only mobilized the ocial religious establishment, but also were able to rally a number of Sala critics
some who had spent time in jail in the 1990s to the regimes side. With this new commitment to confront Sala
jihadism domestically came greater cooperation with the United States on intelligence sharing and steps to dry up the
sources of nancial support for jihadist groups.
Te second reason that the relationship survived the post-9/11 crisis was the percep-
tion by leaders in both countries that geopolitical interests necessitated their continued
close cooperation. Had the US war in Iraq succeeded in establishing a stable, secure,
and pro-American Iraqi government, perhaps Washington might have been able to put
some distance between itself and Riyadh. But with Iraq a mess and Iran a continuing
challenge to American power and goals in the region, the US could not aord a further
deterioration of its only working relationship with a major Gulf power. Te run-up in
oil prices from 2003 to 2008 also brought home to Washington the American interest
in good relations with Saudi Arabia the Organization of Oil Producing Countries
(OPEC) dominant player and the worlds leading exporter of oil. Meanwhile, in the up-
heaval of the post-9/11 Middle East, with war and chaos in Iraq and the concomitant
increase in Irans regional power, the Saudi leadership almost by instinct suppressed
its misgivings about many Bush Administration policies (including the gentle but real
pressure in 2004-05 for domestic political reform) and sought security in its historic
refuge its relationship with the United States. Both King Abdullah and President
George W. Bush took political risks (in terms of their respective domestic public opin-
ion) to maintain the relationship during this dicult period.
If the 9/11 crisis did not fundamentally change the Saudi-American relationship, it is hard to imagine what would. Dur-
ing this tumultuous period, it was the recognition by both Washington and Riyadh of the existence of, and the need to
confront common enemies especially Sala jihadism that undergirded and ultimately sustained the relationship.
And cooperation to thwart common enemies is likely to continue to be the key factor in bolstering the relationship in
future.
If the 9/11 crisis
did not fundamen-
tally change the
Saudi-American
relationship, it is
hard to imagine
what would. During
this tumultuous
period, it was the
recognition by both
Washington and
Riyadh of the ex-
istence of, and the
need to confront
common enemies
especially Sala
jihadism that un-
dergirded and ul-
timately sustained
the relationship.
78 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Saudi Wahhabi Islam in the Service of Uncle Sam
Askar H. Enazy
Askar H. Enazy (BA, Univer-
sity of Maine; MA, McGill
University; PhD, Cambridge
University). Dr. Enazy is a
researcher specializing in
international relations and
international law. His most
recent publications include
Te Long Road from Taif
to Jeddah: Resolution of a
Saudi-Yemeni Boundary
Dispute (Emirates Center
for Strategic Studies and
research, 2006), and Te
Creation of Saudi Arabia:
British Foreign Policy and
Saudi Expansion, 1914-1927
(routledge, 2009).
In various entries in his unpublished diaries, British Mesopotamian ocer Harry St.
John Philby, on special mission to central Arabia during 1917-1918, recorded the min-
utes of his many private interviews with Ibn Saud. He concluded that the newly re-
emerging Wahhabi movement under Ibn Saud would, with British political and mili-
tary support, eectively serve British military and political objectives in the Arabian
Peninsula and beyond during the ongoing war and in its afermath. Tree decades later,
with British power receding and the United States ascendant in the Middle East, a new
patron-client relationship was forged between the West and the Kingdom of Saudi Ara-
bia. Our faith and your iron was how Ibn Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia,
described in 1946 the new post-WWII American-Saudi client relationship in a conver-
sation with Colonel William A. Eddy, the rst US Minister to the Kingdom. Tis rela-
tionship remains intact despite, or perhaps because of, the rise of Salast militancy
that US and Saudi policies purposefully and unwittingly nurtured.
IBN SAUD AND SAUDI WAHHABISM
Contrary to much of the current literature on the Kingdom, which essentially regards
the creation of modern Saudi Arabia as the result of an aggressive Wahhabi ideology
espoused by a politically ambitious, if not religiously inspired, Ibn Saud, a close investi-
gation of the available documentary evidence shows that the territorial expansion of the
Saudi state between 1914 and 1927 was the outcome of the implementation of Britains
imperial policy to achieve its military and political objectives in the Middle East. Te
personality of Ibn Saud and Wahhabism both served as the instruments to pursue these
objectives. Te expansion was initiated at the conclusion of the Anglo-Saudi protector-
ate treaty of 1915, and ceased formally and permanently with the signing of the 1927
Treaty of Jeddah, which granted Ibn Saud a quasi-independent state with borders not
of his own choosing, and which, with subsequent minor amendments, constituted the
permanent political boundaries of present-day Saudi Arabia.
Ibn Saud lacked either political ambition or religious zeal; his motivation was primar-
ily defensive, preservationist, and in complete conformity with the acquiescent, essen-
tially non-expansionist nature of Wahhabism. Due mainly to Wahhabisms dogmatic
and austere nature at the domestic social level, many scholars have failed to appreciate
the fundamental characteristic that distinguishes Wahhabism from mainstream Sunni
79 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Enazy...
Islam with respect to the notion of jihad and relations with the outside world. While classical Sunni Islam denes ji-
had in terms of oensive warfare directed at the non-Muslim world, Wahhabism views it in defensive terms, directed
principally against non-Wahhabi Muslims, and restricts its declaration and conduct to the ruler, to whom obedience
is absolute. Te strict and intolerant conditions imposed on its followers, combined with its hostile, ofen aggressive,
attitude towards non-Wahhabi Muslims, contrast sharply with Wahhabisms pragmatic, and even benevolent attitude
towards non-Muslims. Tis attitude is illustrated by the staunch, consistent pro-Western foreign policies of Saudi Ara-
bia and Qatar (the other Wahhabi state). It also is illustrated by the total absence of any public manifestation of popular
anti-Western opposition, even with regard to the all-important issue of Palestine. Te link between Wahhabi Islam
and both the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the 1980s and September 11,
,
2001 originated in the early 1950s. Te
onset of the Cold War led to the slow though steady transformation of traditional Wahhabism.
THE INTErNATIoNALIzATIoN AND TrANSForMATIoN oF SAUDI WAHHABISM
Due to its anti-atheistic and pro-capitalist tenets, Islam in general and Saudi Islam
(Wahhabism) in particular became an eective tool in US foreign policy in combat-
ing pro-Soviet and anti-Western secular and nationalistic ideologies in the Middle East
and the Muslim world at large. In pursuing its Cold War agenda in the Middle East,
the United States supported the creation of ideologically motivated regional groupings
such as the Muslim World League in 1962 (to replace the ill-fated Baghdad Pact), the
Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) in 1969, and the Islamic Development Bank
in 1976 all headquartered in the Saudi province of Hijaz, the home of Islams holiest
sites. Te United States also supported the importation en masse into Saudi Arabia of a
large number of Islamist political activists, including members of the Muslim Brother-
hood and its oshoot, hizb al-tahrir (the Party of Liberation), who had ed the secular,
pro-Soviet regimes in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Algeria. Te late Saudi King Faysal, the
main architect of the pro-Western Islam-inspired policy in the Middle East, put these
Muslim migrs, assisted by some inuential scholars from Pakistan, in charge of all
levels of the Saudi educational system. It is they who, while paying lip service to Wah-
habi rituals, penned a manifesto declaring the ultimate target of Islamization to be
all facets of knowledge and professional activity. Ocially renamed the Educational
Policy of Saudi Arabia, the manifesto was adopted by the Saudi government in 1971 and implemented immediately.
Tis policy, which remains in force, has not just shaped the education of Saudi students, but also millions of non-Saudi
children and youths who began to ock to the country beginning in the mid-1970s. As a result, Wahhabism itself has
been gradually transformed subject to the inuence of aggressive and intensely political religious ideologies from
Egypt and Pakistan that had their origins in Salasm.
Due to its anti-
atheistic and pro-
capitalist tenets,
Islam in general
and Saudi Islam
(Wahhabism) in
particular became
an eective tool in
US foreign policy
in combating pro-
Soviet and anti-
Western secular
and nationalistic
ideologies in the
Middle East and the
Muslim world at
large.
80 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Enazy...
Te internationalization of Wahhabism obliterated the sacrosanct notion of absolute obedience to the ruler and, more
importantly, expanded Wahhabisms inherently hostile attitude towards non-Wahhabi Muslims, to include non-Muslims
and non-Muslim powers (i.e., the Soviet Union and the West). By the late 1970s, the internationalization of Wahhabism
had led to the emergence of a new generation of Muslims espousing a form of highly politicized Islamic fundamental-
ism that might be called Wahhabi Sala Islam Wahhabi in outward appearance (i.e., in manner of dress, long beard,
anti-smoking and anti-music) but adherent to the militant strands of Sala Islamic ideology as represented in the writ-
ings of the Pakistani Abu Aala Maududi and his Egyptian disciple of Indian descent, Sayyid Qutb. Until shortly afer the
9/11 attacks, the writings of these two Muslim scholars in particular were required readings at all levels of Saudi educa-
tion. Tese writings, along with highly sanitized edited versions of other Wahhabi and Sunni scholars, were published
in many languages and distributed freely worldwide by the Saudi government.
For some years, Islam, and Wahhabi Sala Islam, in particular, capably served Western
strategic interests and, by default, the interests of their Saudi and other regional allies
(e.g., Iran and Pakistan) in the struggles against revolutionary regimes in the Arab and
Muslim world such as Nasserist Egypt, Bathist Syria and Iraq, and socialist Algeria and
South Yemen. Te most striking example of this service occurred in the planning and
execution of the policy response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian
Revolution. While the US supplied the arms and training in camps inside Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia provided the money and, more importantly, transported from all over
the world, free of charge, thousands of mostly young, indoctrinated Saudi and non-
Saudi volunteers seeking martyrdom. Te base camp (al-qaida) where they reported
upon arrival and from which they departed for battle in Afghanistan was run by young
Usama bin Ladin, who supervised the reception, housing, and training of these muja-
hidin ghters.
Tose who fought Soviet forces and later conducted deadly attacks in the US, Europe,
Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere were young men of middle and upper class families, either
Saudi citizens or non-Saudis who were born, raised, and educated in Saudi Arabia or
otherwise indoctrinated in the tenets of Wahhabi Salasm in Saudi government-spon-
sored schools and institutions worldwide. Many of the ghters in present-day Iraq and
Afghanistan are incredulous Saudis seeking martyrdom in order to meet the heavenly
virgins promised to them. Other such indoctrinated young men are greatly coveted as would-be suicide bombers by
various political factions and state security institutions across the region (including the Syrian and Iranian intelligence
services) seeking to advance their own agendas.
With the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1989 (for which both the US and Wahhabi Salas claimed credit), the
United States was free to pursue its interests worldwide. However, Saddam Husayns vows to acquire nuclear weapons
For some years,
Islam, and Wahhabi
Sala Islam, in
particular, capa-
bly served Western
strategic interests
and, by default, the
interests of their
Saudi and other re-
gional allies (e.g.,
Iran and Pakistan)
in the struggles
against revolution-
ary regimes in the
Arab and Muslim
world such as
Nasserist Egypt,
Bathist Syria and
Iraq, and socialist
Algeria and South
Yemen.
81 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Enazy...
and wipe half of Israel o the map, followed by Iraqs invasion of Kuwait and possible march on Saudi Arabia in 1990,
posed a serious threat to US strategic interests in the Middle East. For their part, Wahhabi Salas (by then well organized,
well trained, and well nanced) had become a worldwide movement, proclaiming aloud what they had been taught and
believed in all along that the crusading West was irreligious, materialistic, decadent, and bent upon destroying Islam;
and that Western powers had succeeded in colonizing Muslim countries and planting the Jewish state of Israel as their
agent in Muslim Palestine. Tus the two former allies found in each other, out of expediency if not ideology, the enemy
for which each had been searching since the demise of the Soviet Union.

In the late 1990s, Bin Ladin, as the leader and main nancier of the movement, moved his base (al-qaida) to Afghani-
stan. With the traditional Wahhabi notion of absolute obedience to the ruler no longer sacrosanct, the overthrow of
the pro-Western, traditional Wahhabi-based regime in Saudi Arabia became not only permissible, but, as Bin Ladin
declared, obligatory. In 1998, he declared war on the US and regional allies. Soon aferwards, his organization carried
out the September 11 attacks on US soil and, later, deadly, though less spectacular, attacks, in Saudi Arabia, Great Brit-
ain, and other countries. Te September 11 attacks provided the US government with the moral and legal rationale
needed, with the active assistance of both the Shiite Islamic Republic of Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia, to realize its
long-cherished, if not planned, strategic and economic objective of removing Saddam from power by (falsely) linking
the Iraqi regime to Bin Ladin. Tese momentous events, if anything, appeared to enhance the close and sometimes cozy
relationship between the ruling House of Saud and the George W. Bush Administration.
CoNCLUSIoN
Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is still Wahhabi and remains, as it has been since its formal establishment in 1932,
the staunchest pro-Western and pro-American Arab-Muslim client state in the Middle East. Meanwhile, however, Wah-
habi Salasm persists while its pool of expendable foot soldiers is replenished. Tis dichotomys eects continue to
reverberate across the region and inuence policymakers around the world.
82 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Te United States and Saudi Arabia: Challenges Ahead
Rachel Bronson
Rachel Bronson is Vice Presi-
dent, Programs and Stud-
ies at Te Chicago Council
on Global Aairs and is the
author of Ticker than Oil:
Americas Uneasy Partner-
ship with Saudi Arabia.
The Obama Administration confronts a vexing set of challenges across the greater
Middle East, an area that stretches from Egypt in the west, Afghanistan and Pakistan
in the east, Central Asia in the north and Yemen in the south. In the midst of this arc
of instability sits Saudi Arabia, a long-standing partner whose relationship with the
United States has been enduring but fraught.
Tat Saudi Arabia will play a role in shaping the future of the greater Middle East is not
new. Both Democratic and Republican administrations, over time, have come to rec-
ognize the inuence that the Kingdom exerts on the region. Tis was most clear in the
period following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian Revolution, which
shifed the regional balance of power against US and Saudi interests. Troughout the
1980s, the two worked together, at rst quietly, and then more visibly, to roll back Soviet
aggression in Afghanistan and Iranian ventures throughout the Gulf and in Iraq. Te
United States and Saudi Arabia sided against Iraq, following the latter countrys invasion
of Kuwait in 1990.
Although recent US administrations have been increasingly involved in the Middle
East, and worked alongside the Kingdom, few of them have understood as early as the
Obama Administration the centrality of the Middle East in general, and the importance
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in particular, for advancing American interests. Presi-
dent George W. Bush did not visit Saudi Arabia until the last year of his second term,
and then he visited twice. President afer President, administration afer administration
has come to oce dening the Middle East as a second- or third-level priority, situated
somewhere behind transatlantic or US-Asian relations. However, almost without fail,
every recent American administration has realized that the future of peace and stabil-
ity, and the advancement of American interests, requires a serious focus on the greater
Middle East.
Te Obama Administration is well ahead of its predecessors in engaging the greater
Middle East. Given the challenges the United States now confronts, the administration
was fast out-of-the-gate looking for ways to engage the region. Only three days afer
his inauguration, the President appointed Richard Holbrooke as Special Representative
for Afghanistan and Pakistan and George Mitchell as special envoy for the Middle East,
conveying a seriousness of purpose about engaging the region. Within a week of as-
83 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Bronson...
suming oce, President Obama gave his rst interview to the foreign press and chose the Arab station al-Arabiya as his
preferred outlet. Tis decision was celebrated across the Arab world.
Also early in his presidency, President Obama reached out directly to Saudi Arabia. In
his al-Arabiya interview, the President referred to King Abdullahs contributions to the
peace process as courageous. In April 2009, the President met with King Abdullah of
Saudi Arabia at a G-20 meeting, and then traveled to Riyadh, the place where Islam
began, a few weeks later, prior to his highly visible address in Cairo. In April 2009, at a
conference on US-Saudi relations, Ambassador William J. Burns, the Under Secretary
of State for Political Aairs, stated clearly that few countries in the world today matter
more to American interests than Saudi Arabia. Te greater Middle East in general and
Saudi Arabia in particular is receiving considerable attention from this Administra-
tion.
Te reasons for this are clear. Saudi Arabia is involved in, or has inuence over, countries and issues that are foremost
on Obamas global agenda. Tese include:
Afghanistan and Pakistan: President Obama campaigned on the argument that Iraq was the wrong war, and Afghani-
stan the right one. Te President has empowered a new team to try to win back territory from the Taliban, and cut o
the assistance it has been receiving across the Pakistan border. Riyadh has long-standing ties to both countries, and
particularly close ties with Pakistans defense community, and parts of its leadership.
Iran: Irans nuclear program is a key concern for the Obama Administration. Although the Saudi leadership is also
focused on Irans nuclear program, it is Irans more general hegemonic ambitions that occupies Saudi decision-makers.
One senior Saudi recently conded that Iran feels it has been kept away from the leadership role that it deserves. Tese
feelings in such an important country are dangerous. Saudi leaders have been exploring arrangements with China and
Russia that, in the future, could increase its leverage over the Islamic Republic.
Iraq: One of the Presidents frst foreign policy decisions was to not only continue but also accelerate the drawdown
of US troops in Iraq. Riyadh has close ties to many within Iraqs Sunni community and is concerned that a premature
withdrawal will result in increased chaos.
Peace Process: Te Obama Administration is investing signifcant political capital early in its tenure to restore stability
and condence within the Palestinian leadership, between that leadership and Israel, and among Israel and its neigh-
bors. At the same time, the Saudis have been encouraging reconciliation between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas,
an eort that has limited US support.
Ambassador
William J. Burns,
the Under Secretary
of State for Political
Aairs, stated
clearly that few
countries in the
world today matter
more to American
interests than Saudi
Arabia.
84 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Bronson...
Counterterrorism: Terrorism is a global challenge and Saudi Arabia has an important role to play. Al-Qaida is largely
nanced by monies from individuals in, or passing through, the Gulf states. Disenchanted Saudis have surfaced in Iraq
and elsewhere in meaningful numbers. Te US administration is closely involved with some of Saudi Arabias counter-
terrorism eorts, and is watching carefully a rehabilitation program that has been introduced in Saudi prisons.
Engaging the Muslim world: President Obamas speech in Cairo, and his prior speech
in Ankara, made it clear that he viewed the precipitous drop in public opinion in the
Muslim world toward the United States as a strategic threat. Te home of Mecca and
Medina, Saudi Arabia has a unique platform from which it can speak to and for the
broader Muslim world.
Stable Oil Markets: Te global economy will remain dependent on fossil fuel for the
foreseeable future. Sitting astride one-quarter of the worlds proven oil resources, Saudi
Arabia plays a key role in pricing and the global energy market.
For the most part, Saudi Arabia and the United States dene the regional challenges
similarly, although Saudi Arabias list would also include Yemen and Irans involvement
there as a major foreign policy challenge. Te geopolitical lens that Riyadh and Wash-
ington share goes a long way toward explaining why the relationship has endured for
so long. Te Saudi list of concerns is, and has long been, similar to that of the United
States.
Nevertheless, Riyadh and Washington dier, ofen widely, on preferred strategies. For example, Riyadh was not support-
ive of the American decision to signicantly reduce forces in Iraq, believing that the decision was premature and would
contribute to further chaos. At the same time, Riyadh is deeply concerned about the American decision to surge forces
into Afghanistan. Te Saudi regime also has been quite vocal in its critique of the administrations approach toward the
Israelis and Palestinians.
Tis gap between preferred approaches to the region has become more pronounced in recent years, and represents one
of the Obama Administrations greatest challenges. As far as Riyadh is concerned, past American policy has increased
instability in Iraq and Afghanistan, empowered Iran throughout the region, and has resulted in religious parties coming
to power through local elections in Palestine, an outcome Riyadh did not welcome.
In private conversations, inuential Saudis make clear that they believe that increasing US forces in Afghanistan will
only result in more death and further instability. On the Administrations Palestinian policy, Foreign Minister Saud al-
Faysal made abundantly clear that the Kingdom did not support the administrations approach. Sitting beside US Sec-
retary of State Hillary Clinton, the Saudi Foreign Minister unleashed a hard-hitting critique that caused the press corps
As far as Riyadh
is concerned, past
American policy
has increased in-
stability in Iraq
and Afghanistan,
empowered Iran
throughout the
region, and has re-
sulted in religious
parties coming to
power through lo-
cal elections in
Palestine, an out-
come Riyadh did
not welcome.
85 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Bronson...
to acknowledge the foreign ministers very strong opposition, and that the dierences between the United States and
Saudi Arabia are fundamental on this issue.
As it continues to work through its broad, and at times conicting interests in the greater Middle East, Washington
will need to spend considerable time working through how to better align US and Saudi approaches to this important
region. US decision-makers will need to identify priorities and begin developing a strategic framework for moving
forward. Te Obama Administration has made a strong start in reaching out early to the region in general and to the
Kingdom in particular. But afer years of frustration, the Saudis have lost condence in American leadership abilities,
and this is a reality that the Obama Administration must acknowledge and manage. Te relationship is strained and has
reached yet another juncture where serious realignment is necessary. Future progress toward peace and stability in the
region depends upon it.
86 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Maps
87 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
All statistics are from the US government unless otherwise noted.
88 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
89 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
90 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
91 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Mecca 1946
Photo: Ali Mansuri
Photo: ickr user Saeid.Y, Google Earth
92 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Medina 1947
Photo: ickr user marviikad
Photo: Saudi Aramco World
93 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Riyadh 1946
Photo: Ameen Mohammad
Photo: ickr user jonrawlinson
P
h
o
t
o
:

i
c
k
r

u
s
e
r
b
a
k
a
r
_
8
8
Photo: ickr userbakar_88
94 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
From the pages of The Middle
East Journals Chronology:
Saudi Arabia, 1979
95 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Since it began publication in 1947, each issue of Te Middle East Journal has contained a section chronologically
detailing events of note in the region for the preceding three months. Today, this section is dubbed the Chronology,
although in the earliest issues of the Journal, it was called Developments of the Quarter. Te Chronology is organized
by country and issue, with each section providing a day-by-day account of the relevant events and developments. Mir-
roring the Journal, the Chronologys coverage of the region spans from North Africa in the west, to formerly Soviet
Central Asia, to Pakistan in the east.
Given the longevity of Te Middle East Journal, the Chronology is an indispensable resource to those interested in the
politics and history of the modern Middle East in the pages of the Journal, readers can essentially read a daily ac-
counting of the events in a particular country from 1947 through today. Entries for the Chronology are written as they
occur and represent a real-time window not only into the events of the region, but into the overall context of the time
and place in which they occurred.
Te following pages contain reproductions of the Chronology entries written for Saudi Arabia during 1979. Tey pro-
vide a unique and detailed look into a series of events that have lef an indelible mark upon the region.
96 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
97 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
98 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
99 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
100 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
101 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
102 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
103 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Statistics
104 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Demographics
All statistics are from the UN unless otherwise noted.
105 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
106 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
107 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
108 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
109 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
110 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Economy
111 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
112 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
113 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Energy
All energy statistics are from the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2009.
114 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
115 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
116 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
117 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Gender
118 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Selected Bibliography
119 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
GENErAL rEADINGS AND rEFErENCE
Abu-Dawood, Abdul-Razzak S., and Pradyumna P. Karan. International Boundaries of Saudi Arabia. New Delhi: Galaxy
Publications, 1990.
Blanchard, Christopher M. Saudi Arabia: Background and US Relations. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information
Center, 2008. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA482806>.

Chai, Winberg. Saudi Arabia: A Modern Reader. Indianapolis, IN.: University of Indiana Press, 2005.

Clements, Frank. Saudi Arabia. World bibliographical series, 5. Oxford [u.a.]: Clio Press, 1988.

Cleveland, William L., and Martin P. Bunton. A History of the Modern Middle East. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2009.

Held, Colbert C. Middle East Patterns: Places, Peoples, and Politics. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000.

Lacey, Robert, and Robert Lacey. Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi
Arabia. New York: Viking, 2009.

Lacey, Robert. Te Kingdom: Arabia & the House of Saud. New York, NY: Avon, 1983.

Long, David E. Culture and Customs of Saudi Arabia. Culture and Customs of the Middle East. Westport, CT: Green-
wood Press, 2005.

Mackey, Sandra. Te Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom. London: Harrap, 1987.

Mackey, Sandra. Te Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom. New York: W.W. Norton, 2002.

Maisel, Sebastian, and John A. Shoup. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab States Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Arab
States. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2009.

Mnoret, Pascal. Te Saudi Enigma: A History. New York: Zed Books, 2005.

Niblock, Tim. Saudi Arabia Power, Legitimacy and Survival. Te contemporary Middle East. London: Routledge, 2006.

Peterson, John. Historical Dictionary of Saudi Arabia. Asian/Oceanian historical dictionaries, No. 45. Lanham, MD:
Scarecrow Press, 2003.

Pompea, Sophie. Saudi Arabia: Issues, Historical Background, and Bibliography. New York: Nova Science Publishers,
120 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
2002.

Vasilliev, A. M. Te History of Saudi Arabia. New York: New York University Press, 2000.
Weston, Mark. Prophets and Princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the Present. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2008.
PoLITICS, ECoNoMICS AND SoCIETy

Aarts, Paul, and Gerd Nonnemann. Saudi Arabia in the Balance: Political Economy, Society, Foreign Aairs. London:
Hurst, 2006.

Aba-Namay, Rashed. Te New Saudi Representative Assembly, Islamic Law and Society, Vol. 5, No. 2 (1998): 235-265.

Abdeen, Adnan, and Dale N. Shook.Te Saudi Financial System, in the Context of Western and Islamic Finance. Chich-
ester [West Sussex]: Wiley, 1984.
Abir, M. Te Consolidation of the Ruling Class and the New Elites in Saudi Arabia, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 23,
(1987): 150-171.

Abu-Dawood, Abdul-Razzak S., and Pradyumna P. Karan.International Boundaries of Saudi Arabia. New Delhi: Galaxy
Publications, 1990.

AbuKhalil, Asad.Te Battle for Saudia Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power. Open media book. New
York: Seven Stories, 2004.

Al Magushi, Abdulaziz A. S. Te Coverage of International News in Tree Saudi Dailies. Tesis (M.S.)Ohio University,
August, 1990.

Al Saud, Mashaal Abdullah Turki.Permanence and Change An Analysis of the Islamic Political Culture of Saudi Arabia
with Special Reference to the Royal Family. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microlms International, 1983.

Al-Abed, Fawwaz.. Spread of English and Westernization in Saudi Arabia. World Englishes. Vol. 15, No. 3 (1996): 307-
17.

Al-Akeel, Suleiman Abdullah.Te Impact of Modernization on Saudi Society: A Case Study of Saudi Students Attitudes.
Tesis (Ph. D.)Mississippi State University. Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social work, 1992.
al-Atawneh, Muhammad. Saudi Arabia: Why the Ulama are stalling liberalization, In Political Liberalization in the
Persian Gulf. Ed. Joshua Teitelbaum New York: Columbia University Press, 2009: 87-106.
121 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Al-binali, Khalifa D. Te Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (AGCC) Economic Integration and Future recommendation.
Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2000.

Al-Busaid, Khalifa M.Te G.C.C. Security and the Arab order: relations in question. Tesis (M.A.)United States In-
ternational University, College of Arts and Sciences, San Diego Campus, 1995, 1995.

Al-Ghamdi, Ali Sagr. Modernization and Social Change in Saudi Arabia: Te Case of Al-Baha region. Tesis (M.S.)
Michigan State University. Dept. of Sociology, 1981.

Al-Ghanim, Abdrubelrasoul Ahmed.Te Positive and Negative Aspects of the Guest Workers in Saudi Arabia and the
Saudi Arabian Governments Policy Concerning Tem. Tesis (M.A.)University of Colorado, 1983.

Al-Harthi, Mohammad A.Te Political Economy of Labor in Saudi Arabia: Te Causes of Labor Shortage. Tesis (Ph.
D.)State University of New York at Binghamton, Political Science Department, 2000.
al-Hegelan, Abdelrahman and M. Palmer. Bureaucracy and Development in Saudi Arabia, Te Middle East Journal,
Vol. 39 (1985): 48-68 .
al-Hejail, Salah Legal Developments in Saudi Arabia. yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law,
Vol. 4 (1997-1998): 338-350.

Al-Idrees, Rajeh Ahmed Hussain.Te Role of Saudi Government in the Socioeconomic Development Process. Tesis
(M.P.A.)California State University, Chico, 1992.

Al-Khuthaila, Hend. Te Meaning of Saudi Elections. American Behavioral Scientist. Vol. 49, No. 4 (2005): 605-609.

Al-Khuzaim, Sulaiman Abdulrahman.Te Feasibility of Saudization: Costs and Benefts to Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.A.)
California State University, San Bernardino, 2003.

Al-Kilani, Kamal.Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Contemporary Islamic reform. London: K. Al-Kilani, 2001.

al-Mutawa, Mohammed, John W. Fox, and Nada Mourtada-Sabbah. Globalization and the Gulf. London: Routledge,
2006.

Al-Oofy, Abdellatif D. Te Usages, Status, and Efects of Video Cassette recorders on other Media, Audiences, and the New
Islamic Awareness in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph.D.)Ohio University, November, 1990.

Al-Otaiby, Abdullah A. Migration and Socioeconomic Development: A Rural Community in the Southwest Region of Saudi
Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)Michigan State University. Dept. of Sociology, 1989.
122 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Al-Rasheed, Madawi, ed. Kingdom Without Borders: Saudi Political, Religious and Media Frontiers. New York: Columbia
University Press, 2008.

al-.Rasheed, Madawi. Saudi Arabia post 9/11: History, Religion and Security, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 43, No.1
(2007): 153-160.
. God, the King and the Nation: Political rhetoric in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, Te Middle
East Journal, Vol. 50, No. 3 (1996): 359-371.

. Politics in an Arabian oasis: Te rashidis of Saudi Arabia. Society and culture in the modern Middle East. Lon-
don: Tauris, 1991.
Al-Rasheed, Madawi, and Robert Vitalis. Counter-Narratives: History, Contemporary Society, and Politics in Saudi Ara-
bia and Yemen. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

Al-Sahlawi, Khalid Abdul Aziz. Te Role of Industrial Development Banks in Financing and Promoting Technological
Change: Te Case of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of Wales Bangor (Accounting,
Banking and Economics), 1997.
al-Samaan, Yahya. Dispute Resolution in Saudi Arabia, yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, Vol. 7 (2000-
2001): 71-84.

Al-Saud, Faisal Bin Mishaal.Political Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: An Assessment of the Majlis Ash-
Shura. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of Durham, 2000.

Al-Sehaim, Saleh Abdullah M. Te Saudi Industrial Development Fund: Impact in Developing the Private Industrial Sec-
tor in Saudi Arabia. La Verne, CA: University of La Verne, 1989.

Al-Tammam, Mohammed G. Causality between Financial Development and Economic Growth: Te Cases of Kuwait,
oman, and Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph.D.)Colorado State University, 2005.

Al-Turaiqi, Abdullah.Te Political System of Saudi Arabia. [Saudi Arabia]: Ghainaa Publications, 2008.

Al-Yassini, Ayman.Religion and State in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Westview special studies on the Middle East.
Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1985.

Alam, Anwar. religion and State: Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia ; (a Comparative Study). Delhi: Gyan Sagar Publishers,
1998.

123 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Albers, Henry Herman. Saudi Arabia: Technocrats in a Traditional Society. New York: Lang, 1989.

Albothy, Ibrahim Mohammed. A Critical Analysis of Accelerated Growth in Saudi Arabia. Report (M.S. in C.R.P.)
University of Texas at Austin, 1990, 1990.

Aleissa, Ibrahim M. Te Political Economy of Saudi Arabia Investment in Human Capital and the Economics of Higher
Education. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of Denver, 1989, 1989.

Alhenaki, Abdullah S. Saudi Arabia: A Cultural, a Social and an Economic Perspective Since 1970. Tesis (M.A.)
Mankato State University, 1984.

Ali, Abbas. Business and Management Environment in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and opportunities for Multinational
Corporations. New York: Routledge, 2009.
. Decision Style and Work Satisfaction of Saudi Arabian Managers, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern
Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2 (1988): 45-59.

Alkhathlan, Khalid. Economic Independence of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan Trough oil and Labor. Tesis (Ph.D.)
Colorado State University, 2006.

Alshamsi, Mansoor Jassem. Islam and Political Reform in Saudi Arabia: Te Quest for Political Change and Reform. Rout-
ledge studies in political Islam. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2007.

Alsharekh, Alanoud. Te Gulf Family: Kinship Policies and Modernity. SOAS Middle East issues. London: Saqi in asso-
ciation with London Middle East Institute, SOAS, 2007.

Altorki, Soraya, and Donald Powell Cole. Expatriate Workers in Saudi Arabia: Cornerstone of Development or by-Product
of a Boom? Middle East Studies Association of North America, 1990.
. Arabian oasis City: Te Transformation of Unayzah. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989.

Asad, Mohammed Ahmed. Te Possibility of Change in Bedouin Society: A Study of Current Developments in Saudi Ara-
bia. Tesis (Ph. D.)Claremont Graduate School, 1981.

Auty, R.M. Te Economic Stimulus from Resource-Based Industry in Developing Countries: Saudi Arabia and Bah-
rain, Economic Geography. Vol. 64, No. 3 (1988): 209-225.

Ayoob, Mohammed, and Hasan Kosebalaban. Religion and Politics in Saudi Arabia: Wahhabism and the State. Boulder,
CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2009.
124 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Azzam, Henry T., and Simon Henderson. Perspectives on Economy and Political System in Saudi Arabia. IIES seminar
series, 9506. Tokyo: Institute for International Economic Studies, 1995.

Ba-Sheikh, A. M. An Analysis of the operation of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund. Canterbury: University of Kent,
1985.

Bachar, Shmuel. Establishment Ulama and Radicalism in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. Research monographs on the
Muslim world, ser. No. 1, paper No. 4. Washington, DC: Hudson Institute, 2006.

Badr-el-din, A. Ibrahim. Economic Co-operation in the Gulf: Issues in the Economies of the Arab Gulf Co-operation
Council States. Routledge studies in Middle Eastern economies. London: Routledge, 2007.

Bahgat, Gawdat. Te Gulf Monarchies: New Economic and Political Realities. London: Research Institute for the Study
of Conict and Terrorism, 1997
. Nuclear Proliferation: Te Case of Saudi Arabia, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 60, No. 3 (2006): 421-443.

Bakr, Mohammed A. A Model in Privatization: Successful Change Management in the Ports of Saudi Arabia. London:
London Centre of Arab Studies, 2001.

Balka, Charles E. Te Fate of Saudi Arabia Regime Evolution in the Saudi Monarchy. Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate
School, 2008.

Baroni, Samiah Elizabeth. Color Me Green: Saudi Arabian Identity and the Manifestations of Power. Tesis (Ph. D.)
Florida Atlantic University, 2007.

Batur, Pinar, and Joe R. Feagin. Te Global Color Line: racial and Ethnic Inequality and Struggle from a Global Perspec-
tive. Research in politics and society, v. 6. Stamford, CT: JAI Press, 1999.

Bilal, Gassoum K.Some Salient Features of Migration to the GCC Countries: Te Experience of Sudanese Emigrants to
Saudi Arabia, 1970-1995. Sudan: Gassoum K. Bilal], 2006.

Blanchard, Christopher M.Saudi Arabia: Background and US Relations. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Cen-
ter, 2008. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA482806>.
Bligh, A. Te Saudi Religious Elite (Ulama) as Participant in the Political System of the Kingdom.
International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 17 (1985): 37-50.

Boukhars, Anouar.rethinking Muslim Politics: Legitimacy, religion, and Modernity. Tesis (Ph.D.)Old Dominion Uni-
versity, 2005.
125 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Bradley, John R. Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis. New York: Palgrave, 2006.

Brisard, Jean-Charles. Terrorism Financing Roots and Trends of Saudi Terrorism Financing: Report Prepared for the Presi-
dent of the Security Council, United Nations. Paris: JCB Consulting, 2002. <http://www.nationalreview.com/document/
document-un122002.pdf>.

Buiter, Willem. Economic, Political, and Institutional Prerequisites for Monetary Union Among the Members of the
Gulf Cooperation Council, open Economies review, Vol. 19, No. 5 (2008): 579-612.

Bulloch, John. Te Shura Council in Saudi Arabia. Contemporary strategic issues in the Arab Gulf. London: Gulf Centre
for Strategic Studies, 1993.

Champion, Daryl. Twilight of a Rentier State Saudi Arabia and the Momentum of Reform. Tesis (Ph.D.)Australian
National University, 2000.
. Saudi Arabia on the Edge of Globalisation: Asabiyya capitalism and socioeconomic change at the end of the
boom era, Journal of Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2 (1999): 1-24 .

Clark, Arthur P., Muhammad A. Tahlawi, William Facey, and Tomas A. Pledge. A Land Transformed: Te Arabian Pen-
insula, Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Aramco. Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco), 2006.

Cleron, Jean Paul. Saudi Arabia 2000: A Strategy for Growth. New York: St. Martins Press, 1978.

Cohen, William S. Personal Accountability for Force Protection at Khobar Towers. Washington, DC: Dept. of Defense],
1997.

Cole, Donald Powell. Pastoral Nomads in a Rapidly Changing Economy: Te Case of Saudi Arabia. Pastoral Network
paper, 7e. London: Overseas Development Institute, Agricultural Administration Unit, 1979.

Corcoran, Kevin. Saudi Arabia, Keys to Business Success. London: McGraw-Hill, 1981.

Craze, Joshua. Te Kingdom: Saudi Arabia and the Challenge of 21st Century. New York: Columbia University Press,
2009.

Cristo, Matthew M., and Mark P. Kovalcik. Population Pressure and the Future of Saudi State Stability. Ft. Belvoir: De-
fense Technical Information Center, 2008.

Dahlan, Ahmad Hasan Ahmad. Politics, Administration & Development in Saudi Arabia. Brentwood, MD: Amana,
1990.
126 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Dekmejian, Richard. Te Liberal Impulse in Saudi Arabia, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 57 No. 3 (2003): 400-413.

. Saudi Arabias Consultative Council, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 52, No. 2 (1998): 204-218.
. Te Rise of Political Islamism in Saudi Arabia, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 48, No. 4 (1994): 627-643.

Dew, Philip. Saudi Arabia: Restructuring for Growth. London: Euromoney Books, 2003.
Doumato, Eleanor A. Women and Work in Saudi Arabia: How exible are Islamic margins? Te Middle East Journal,
Vol. 53, No.4 (1999): 568-583.
. Gender, Monarchy, and National Identity in Saudi Arabia, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 19
(1992): 31-47 .
Doumato, Lamia. Te Contemporary Architecture of Saudi Arabia. Architecture series: Bibliography, A-266. Monticello,
IL: Vance Bibliographies, 1980.

Dunn, Michael Collins. Is the Sky Falling?: Saudi Arabias Economic Problems and Political Stability, Middle East
Policy. Vol. 3, No. 4 (1995): 29-39.

Ehsanullah, Ehsan.Siyasa Shariyya: Te Anthropology of Injustice : the Case of the Saudi Kingdom. Batu Caves, Selangor
Darul Ehsan, Malaysia: Tinkers Library, 1996.

Ehteshami, Anoushiravan. From the Gulf to Central Asia: Players in the New Great Game. Exeter: University of Exeter
Press, 1994.

Ehteshami, Anoushiravan. Reform from Above: the Politics of Participation in the Oil Monarchies, International Af-
fairs. Vol. 79, No. 1 (2003): 53-75.

El Mallakh, Ragaei. Saudi Arabia, Rush to Development: Prole of an Energy Economy and Investment. Baltimore, MD:
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982.

El Mallakh, Ragaei. An overview of the Tird Development Plan of Saudi Arabia (1400-1405/1980-1985). Boulder, CO:
ICEED, University of Colorado, 1981.

El Mallakh, Ragaei, and Dorothea H. El Mallakh. Saudi Arabia, Energy, Developmental Planning, and Industrialization.
Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1982.

Elmusa, S. Faust Without the Devil? Te Interplay of Technology and Culture in Saudi Arabia, Te Middle East Journal,
127 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Vol. 51, No. 3 (1997): 345-357.

Eltayeb, Mohamed S.M. A Human Rights Approach to Combating Religious Persecution: Cases from Pakistan, Saudi Ara-
bia, and Sudan. School of Human Rights Research series, v. 11. Antwerpen: Intersentia, 2001.

Esposito, John L. Islam and Politics. Contemporary issues in the Middle East. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press,
1984.

Faisal, Alhegelan. Perspective on Saudi Arabia: Excerpts from Public Statements. Washington, DC: Royal Embassy of
Saudi Arabia, 1980.

Fandy, Mamoun. Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent. New York: St. Martins Press, 1999.

Fandy, Mamoun. (Un)Civil War of Words: Media and Politics in the Arab World. Westport, CT: Praeger Security Inter-
national, 2007.

. State Islam and State Violence: Te Case of Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)Southern Illinois University at Car-
bondale, 1993.

Farsy, Fouad. Modernity and Tradition: Te Saudi Equation. Guernsey, Channel Islands: Knight Communications,
1994.

. Saudi Arabia: A Case Study in Development. London: KPI, 1986.

Foley, Sean. Te Arab Gulf States: Beyond oil and Islam. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2010.

Gause, F.G. Saudi Arabia Over a Barrel, Foreign Aairs. 79 (2000): 80-94.

Georgetown University. Saudi Arabia one Hundred years Later: revised and Updated Proceedings of a Conference at the
Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, April 28, 1999. CCAS reports. Washington, DC: Center
for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, 1999. <http://www.georgetown.edu/sfs/programs/ccas/saudi.
pdf>.

Gillespie, Kate, and Gwenn Okruhlik. Cleaning Up Corruption in the Middle East, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 42,
No. 1: 59-82.

Glover, Hayden L. Patrimonial Politics in Saudi Arabia: An overview. Tesis (M.A.)University of South Carolina,
1984.

128 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Gold, Dore. Hatreds Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub,
2003.

Graham, Douglas. Saudi Arabia Unveiled. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co, 1991.

Gulf Centre for Strategic Studies (London, England). Democratic Developments in the Gulf: Saudi Arabia As a Case
Study. Contemporary strategic issues in the Arab Gulf. London: Gulf Centre for Strategic Studies, 1994.

Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting. Te Economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council Member States: Perfor-
mance and Future outlook. Doha: Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, 2003.

Gurses, Mehmet. State-sponsored development, oil and democratization. Democratization. 16, No. 3 (2009): 508-529.

Hajjar, Bandar al and J. R. Presly. Constraints on Development: Small businesses in Saudi Arabia.
Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 28, No. 2 (1992): 333-351 .
Hamzawy, Amr.Te Saudi Labyrinth: Evaluating the Current Political opening. Middle East series. Washington, DC:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2006.

Hanson, Anna R. Anti Democratic Tendencies in oil Exporting States: Te Case Studies of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
Tesis (B.A. (Hons.))Acadia University , 2007.
Hartmann, R. Yemeni Exodus from Saudi Arabia: Te Gulf conict and the ceasing of the workers emigration, Journal
of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 19, No. 2 (1995): 38-52.

Hassan, Omar. Saudi Arabia and the New World order. [London]: Gulf Centre for Strategic Studies, 1994.

Hawrylak, Michael N. Saudi Arabia: Te Compatibility of Islam and Democracy. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Informa-
tion Center, 1995. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA441005>.

Heller, Mark, and Nadav Safran. Te New Middle Class and Regime Stability in Saudi Arabia. Harvard Middle East pa-
pers, No. 3. Cambridge, MA: Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, 1985.

Henderson, Simon. Afer King Fahd: Succession in Saudi Arabia. Washington, DC: Washington Institute for Near East
Policy, 1995.

Herb, Michael. All in the Family Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies. SUNY series
in Middle Eastern studies. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999.

129 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Hertog, Steen. Te Political Economy of Saudi Arabia, Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 44, No. 8 (2008): 1240-
1242.

Hertog, Steen. Shaping the Saudi State: Human agencys shifing role in rentier-state formation, International Journal
of Middle East Studies, Vol. 39, No. 43 (2007): 539-563.

. Saudi Arabias Political Demobilization in Regional Comparison: Monarchial tortoise and republican hares, In
Te Arab State and Neo-Liberal Globalization: Te restructuring of State Power in the Middle East. Ed. Laura Guazzone
and Daniela Pioppi. Reading, UK: Ithaca, 2009):73-93.
Heydemann, Steven. Networks of Privilege in the Middle East: Te Politics of Economic Reform Revisited. Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

Holden, David, and Richard Johns. Te House of Saud: Te Rise and Rule of the Most Powerful Dynasty in the Arab
World. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1982.

Hollingsworth, Mark, and Sandy Mitchell. Saudi Babylon: Torture, Corruption and Cover-Up Inside the House of Saud.
Edinburgh: Mainstream, 2006.

Hunter, Timothy N.1996. Appeasing the Saudis, Middle East Quarterly, Vol 3. No.1 (1996): 4-11.

Ibn Abd al-Aziz, Faysal ibn Mashal ibn Saud.Decision Making and the Role of Ash-Shura in Saudi Arabia: Majlis Ash-
Shura (Consultative Council : Concept, Teory, and Practice. New York: Vantage Press, 2004.

Ibn Saeed, Rana Abdulellah. Urban Poverty in Riyadh. Tesis (M.A.)Webster University, Geneva, 2008, 2008.

Islami, A. Reza S., and Rostam Mehraban Kavoussi. Te Political Economy of Saudi Arabia. Near Eastern studies, Univer-
sity of Washington, No. 1. Seattle: Distributed by University of Washington Press, 1984.

Jabbra, Joseph G. Bureaucracy and Development in the Arab World. International studies in sociology and social anthro-
pology, v. 51. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1989.

Jahn, Michael R. Regime Stability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tesis (B.S.)University of Houston, 2007.

Johany, Ali D., Michel Berne, and J. Wilson Mixon. Te Saudi Arabian Economy. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity Press, 1986.

Jones, Toby Craig. Te Dogma of Development: Technopolitics and the Making of Saudi Arabia, 1950-1980. Tesis (Ph.
D.)Stanford University, 2006, 2006.
130 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Joseph, Suad. Gender and Citizenship in the Middle East. Contemporary issues in the Middle East. Syracuse, NY: Syra-
cuse University Press, 2000.

Jumet, Kira D. Saudi Arabia Remodeling Authoritarianism for the 21 St Century. Tesis (M.A.) American University
in Cairo, 2008, 2008.

Kapiszewski, Andrzej. Saudi Arabia. Journal of Asian and African Studies, Vol. 41, No. 5-6 (2006): 5-6.

Katzman, Kenneth. How Stable Are Saudi Arabia and Kuwait? Middle East Quarterly, Vol. 13 (1994): 21-30.

Kavoussi, Rostam M. Economic Growth and Income Distribution in Saudi Arabia, Arab Studies Quarterly, No. 51
(1983): 65-81.

Kaye, Dalia D., Frederic Wehrey, Audra K. Grant, and Dale Stahl.More Freedom, Less Terror? Liberalization and Politi-
cal Violence in the Arab World. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 2008. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/
ADA487761>.

. Demystifying Saudi Arabia, Middle East Insight, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1999): 37-38.

. Succession in Saudi Arabia. New York: Palgrave, 2001.
. Trends in Saudi National Security, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 53, No. 2 (1999): 232-253.
. Te Role of the Ulama in the Politics of an Islamic State: Te Case of Saudi Arabia, International Journal of
Middle East Studies, Vol. 18 (1986): 53-71.

Kechichian, Joseph A. Power and Succession in Arab Monarchies: A Reference Guide. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Pub-
lishers, 2008.

. Te Burden of Saudi Arabia, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 57 (2003): 492-497.
Khamis, Abdal Hafeez M. Video Cassette Recorders and Cultural Identity in Saudi Arabia. 1986.

Khunaizi, T.B. Economic, Social and Political Development in Saudi Arabia: A Historical Analysis. Ann Arbor, MI: Uni-
versity of Michigan Press, 1996.

Khunaizi, Tayseer Baquir. Economic, Social, and Political Development in Saudi Arabia: A Historical Analysis. Tesis (Ph.
D.)University of Kansas, Special Studies (Economics, Political Science, Sociology), 1993.

131 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
King, Craig K. Impact of a regime Change in Saudi Arabia: An operational Perspective. Maxwell Air Force Base, AL: Air
Command and Sta College, Air University, 1998.
Kraidy, Marwan. Reality Television, Gender, and Authenticity in Saudi Arabia, Journal of Communication, Vol. 59, No.
2 (2009): 345-366.

Lacey, Robert. Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia. New York:
Viking, 2009.

Lacroix, Stphane. Between Islamists and Liberals: Saudi Arabias new Islamo-liberal reformists, Te Middle East Jour-
nal, Vol. 58, No. 3 (2004): 345-365.

Laswad, Said Ali. Political Consciousness and regime Longevity in the Middle East: A Comparative Analysis of the Mon-
archies of Libya and Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of Idaho, 1993.

Lennon, Alexander T.J. Te Epicenter of Crisis: Te New Middle East. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007.

Long, David E. Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1997.
Looney, Robert E. and P.C. Frederiksen. Te Evolution and Evaluation of Saudi Arabian Economic Planning, Journal
of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2 (1985): 3-19.
Looney, Robert E. Saudization: A Useful Tool in the Kingdoms Battle Against Unemployment? Journal of South Asian
and Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 27, No. 3 (2004): 13-33.

. Patterns of Human Resource Development in Saudi Arabia, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 27
No. 4 (1991): 668-678 .

. Economic Development in Saudi Arabia: Consequences of the oil Price Decline. Contemporary studies in eco-
nomic and nancial analysis, v. 66. Greenwich, CT: Jai Press, 1990.

. Saudi Arabian Budgetary Dilemmas, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 26 (1990): 76-87.
. Future Viability of the Saudi Arabian Private Sector in an Era of Fiscal Austerity, Journal of South Asian and
Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 11, No. 3 (1988): 3-27.
. Depressed Oil Revenues and Austerity: Te Economics of Reduced Saudi Arabian Defense Expenditures, Arab
Studies Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 3 (1988): 345-361.
132 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Maass, Alexander Reilly. Politico-Religious Instability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Te Neo-Ikhwan and the Grand
Mosque Rebellion of 1979. Tesis (B.A. with honors)Amherst College, 2006.

Machlin, Barry N. Prometheus Bound: Te Political Economy of Saudi Arabia, 1973-1980. 1982.

Mady, Ahmed M. Roles and Eects of Media in the Middle East and the United States. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical In-
formation Center, 2005. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA435946>.

Manea, Elham. regional Politics in the Gulf: Saudi Arabia, oman, yemen. London: Saqi, 2005.

Manning, Joseph P. Treats to the Saudi Arabian Monarchy. USAWC strategy research project. Carlisle Barracks, PA: US
Army War College, 1998.

Masood, Rashid. Industrialization in oil-Based Economies: A Case Study of Saudi Arabia. New Delhi: ABC Pub. House,
1984.

McAllister, David H. Informal Networks and Saudi Regime Stability. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center,
1997. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA340381>.

McHale, Tomas R. A Prospect of Saudi Arabia, International Aairs, No. 564 (1980): 622-647.

Merza, Wael Sabri. regime Legitimacy and regime Type in the Arab region: A Comparative Study of the Cases of regimes
in Syria and Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)Claremont Graduate University, 2003.

Middle East Economic Digest Ltd. Saudi Arabia: Towards an Industrial Society. MEED prole, No. 5. London: Middle
East Economic Digest, 1990.

Midki, James R. Saudi Arabia: A Kingdom in Decline. Monterey: Naval Postgraduate. School, 1995.

Moaddel, M. Te Saudi Public Speaks: Religion, Gender, and Politics, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol.
38, No. 1 (2006): 79-108.

Moliver, Donald M., and Paul J. Abbondante. Te Economy of Saudi Arabia. New York: Praeger, 1980.

Moon, Chung-In. Korean Contractors in Saudi Arabia: Teir Rise and Fall, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 40, No. 4
(1986): 614-633.

Mutabbakani, Saleh. Saudi Arabia: Modern Economy, Traditional Society. Saudi Arabia: s.n.], 1993.

133 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Naif, Al-Mutairi. Saudi Governmental Structure and Foreign Policy. USAWC Military Studies Program paper. Carlisle
Barracks, PA: US Army War College, 1993.

Naif, Al-Mutairi, and James J. Coyle. Saudi Governmental Structure and Foreign Policy. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical
Information Center, 1993. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA263866>.

Naim, Mashary Abdullah. Te Home Environment in Saudi Arabia and Gulf States. Milano: Pubblicazioni dellI.S.U.
Universita Cattolica, 2006.

Najem, Tom, and Martin Hetherington.Good Governance in the Middle East oil Monarchies. Durham modern Middle
East and Islamic world series, 4. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003.
Namay, Rahshed. Constitutional Reform: A Systemization of Saudi Politics, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern
Studies, Vol.16, No. 3 (1993): 43-88.

. Te Dynamics of Individual Rights and Teir Prospective Development Under the New Constitution of Saudi
Arabia, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 18, No.3: 21-40.
Nehme, M.G. Saudi Arabia 1950-80: Between Nationalism and Religion, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.30, No.4 (1994):
930-943.
. Saudi Development Plans Between Capitalist and Islamic Values, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 30, No. 3 (1994):
632-645.

Niblock, Tim, and Monica Malik. Te Political Economy of Saudi Arabia. London: Routledge, 2007.

Niblock, Tim. Globalization and the Saudi Economy: Gains and Losses, In Te Arab State and Neo-Liberal Globaliza-
tion: Te Restructuring of State Power in the Middle East. Ed. Laura Guazzone and Daniela Pioppi. Reading, UK: Ithaca,
2009: 159-184.
. Saudi Arabia Power, Legitimacy and Survival. Te contemporary Middle East. London: Routledge, 2006.
. State, Society, and Economy in Saudi Arabia. New York: St. Martins Press, 1982.
Okruhlik, Gwenn. and P. Conge. National Autonomy, Labor Migration and Political Crisis: Yemen and Saudi Arabia,
Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 51, No. 4 (1997): 554-565.
Okruhlik, Gwenn. Te Irony of Islah (Reform), Washington Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 4 (2005): 153-170.

134 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
. Networks of Dissent: Islamism and Reform in Saudi Arabia Portrayals of Internal Politics As Contests be-
tween United States Allied moderates and Puritanical Wahhabis Are Grossly Oversimplied. So Too Is a Menu Tat
Oers Two Stark Choices: An Absolute Monarchy Tilting Toward the West or a Revolutionary Islamist Regime Hostile
to the West, Current History, Vol. 101, No. 651 (2002): 22.

. Debating Prots and Political Power: Private Business and Government in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)Univer-
sity of Texas at Austin, 1992.

Olayan, Suliman S. Saudi Arabia: Te Burden of Moderation, Washington Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 4 (1983): 32-45.
Openshaw, M. Religion and Regime Legitimacy: Te al-Saud, Wahhabism, and Saudi Arabian Politics, Journal of Ara-
bic, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2 (1994): 76-89.

Osama, Abdul Rahman. Te Dilemma of Development in the Arabian Peninsula. London: Wolfeboro, 1987.

Piscatori, James P., and Paul Dresch. Monarchies and Nations: Globalization and Identity in the Arab States of the Gulf.
London: I.B. Tauris, 2005.
Piscatori, James P. Te Roles of Islam in Saudi Arabias Political Development, In Islam and Development: religion and
socio-political change. Ed. by John L. Esposito. Worcester MA: Syracuse University Press, 1980: 123-138.

Powell, William. Saudi Arabia and Its Royal Family. Secaucus, NJ: L. Stuart, 1982.

Preiss, Frank. Saudi Arabia: Desert Kingdom in Transition. Understanding global issues, No. 92. Cheltenham, UK: Un-
derstanding Global Issues Ltd, 2000.

Quandt, William B. Saudi Arabia in the 1980s: Foreign Policy, Security, and oil. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution,
1981.
Raphaeli, Nimrod. Demands for Reforms in Saudi Arabia, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 41, No. 4 (2005): 517-532.
Reinhold, Baron. omnibalancing and the House of Saud. Tesis (M.A.)Naval Postgraduate School, 2001.

Rudolph, Rachael M. Identity, Foreign Policy, and the War on Terrorism in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.A.) American
University, 2006.

Rush, Alan. Saudi Arabia: Te Royal Family of Al-Saud. Ruling families of Arabia. [Farnham Common]: Archive Edi-
tions, 1991.

135 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Sabri, Sharaf. Te House of Saud in Commerce: A Study of Royal Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. New Delhi: I.S. Pub-
lications, 2001.

Sager, Abdulaziz O. Reform in Saudi Arabia: Current Challenges & Feasible Solutions. Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Gulf
Research Center, 2004.

Sager, Abdulaziz O., Christian Koch, and Hasanayn Tawfq Ibrhm.Gulf yearbook 2004. Dubai: Gulf Research Center,
2005.

Said, Abdulrahman H. Saudi Arabia: Te Transition from a Tribal Society to a Nation-State. Tesis (Ph. D.)University
of Missouri-Columbia, 1982.

Salaam, Yasmine Saad. American Educated Saudi Technocrats: Agents of Social Change? Tesis (Ph.D) Fletcher School
of Law and Diplomacy, 2000.

Salame, Ghassan. Islam and Politics in Saudi Arabia, Arab Studies Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 3 (1987): 306-326.

Saudi Arabia. Te Shura Council in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Parliamentary Practice. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Shura
Council, 2004.

Saudi Arabia. Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Te Shura Council. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Shura Council, 2006.

Saudi Arabia. Government: Governing with the People. Washington, DC: Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, 2008.

Schwartz, Stephen. Te Two Faces of Islam: Te House of Saud from Tradition to Terror. New York: Doubleday, 2002.

Seznec, Jean-Francois. Stirrings in Saudi Arabia, Journal of Democracy, Vol. 13, No. 4 (2002): 33-40.

Shavit, U. Al-Qaedas Saudi Origins: Saudi Conspiracy Teorists Laid the Ground for Osama Bin Laden, Middle East
Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 4 (2006): 3-14.

Shaw, John A., and David E. Long. Saudi Arabian Modernization: Te Impact of Change on Stability. Washington, DC:
Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, 1982.

Sherry, Virginia N. Saudi Arabia: Bad Dreams, Exploitation and Abuse of Migrant Workers in Saudi Arabia. New York:
Human Rights Watch, 2004.

Siddiq, Mohammed H. Why the Boom Went Bust: An Analysis of the Saudi Government. Lincoln, Neb: M.H. Siddiq,
1995.
136 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Sirageldin, Ismail Abdel-Hamid, Naiem A. Sherbiny, and Ismail Serageldin. Saudis in Transition: Te Challenges of a
Changing Labor Market. New York: Published for the World Bank [by] Oxford University Press, 1984.

Sohrab, Mohammad. State and Society in Saudi Arabia: History of State Formation and Social Development. New Delhi,
India: Global Media Publications, 2008.

Spence, Floyd D. Te Khobar Towers Bombing Incident: Sta Report. Washington, DC?: Te Committee], 1996.

Sundq al-Tanmiyah al- Sinyah al-Sad. Saudi Industrial Development Fund Guide to Industrial Loans. Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia?: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Finance & National Economy, 1900.

Swope, Richard T., and Bryan G. Hawley. Khobar Report: Report of Investigation Concerning Tghe Khobar Towers Bomb-
ing, 25 June 1996. Washington, DC: Dept. of the Army, 1997], 1998.

Taher, Nahed. riyal Balances: Monetary adjustment in Saudi Arabia (1978-1998). Lancaster, UK: University of Lancaster,
2001.

Tarabzouni, Albaraa. Te Development of Political Economy in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.A.)University of Colorado at
Denver, 1994.

Tash, Abdulkader T. M. A Prole of Professional Journalists Working in the Saudi Arabian Daily Press. Tesis (Ph. D.)
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 1983, 1983.
Teitelbaum, Joshua. Dueling for Dawa: State vs. Society on the Saudi Internet, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 56, No. 2
(2002): 222-239.

Tbeileh, Faisal Hasan. Te Political Economy of Legitimacy in rentier States: A Comparative Study of Saudi Arabia and
Libya. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of California, Los Angeles, 1991.

Uthup, Tomas. Religious Values and Public Policy: A Comparative Analysis of Islam and Development in Four Islamic
States, 1970-1990. Tesis (Ph. D.)State University of New York at Binghamton, Dept. of Political Science, 1996.

Vietor, Richard H.K., and Rebecca Susan Evans. Saudi Arabia: Getting the House in order. Boston, MA: Harvard Busi-
ness School, 2006.

Viola, Joy Winkie. Human resources Development in Saudi Arabia: Multinationals and Saudization. Boston: Interna-
tional Human Resources Development Corp, 1986.

Wihbey, Paul Michael. Succession in Saudi Arabia: Te Not so Silent Struggle. IASPS research papers in strategy, No.4.
137 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Jerusalem: Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies, 1997.

Wilson, Peter W., and Douglas Graham. Saudi Arabia: Te Coming Storm. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1994.

Wilson, Peter W. A Question of Interest: Te Paralysis of Saudi Banking. Boulder: Westview Press, 1991.

Wilson, Rodney. Te Political Economy of Saudi Arabia, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 44, No. 4 (2008): 637-639.
. Arab Government Responses to Islamic Finance: Te Cases of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Mediterranean Politics,
Vol. 7, No. 3 (2002): 143-163

Wright, J. W. Islamic Banking in Practice: Problems in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. CMEIS occasional paper, No. 48. Dur-
ham: Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of Durham, 1995.

Wright, J. W. Business and Economic Development in Saudi Arabia: Essays with Saudi Scholars. Basingstoke, Hampshire:
Macmillan Press, 1996.

Wurm, Iris. In doubt for the monarchy: autocratic modernization in Saudi-Arabia. PRIF reports, No. 81. Frankfurt am
Main: Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, 2008.

Yamani, Mai. From Fragility to Stability: a Survival Strategy for the Saudi Monarchy, Contemporary Arab Aairs, Vol.
2, No. 1 (2009): 90-105.

. Changed Identities: Te Challenge of the New Generation in Saudi Arabia. London: Royal Institute of Interna-
tional Aairs, 2000.

Yaphe, Judith S. Saudi Arabia: Uncertain Stability. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 1997. <http://
handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA395098>.

Young, Arthur N. Saudi Arabia, the Making of a Financial Giant. New York University studies in Near Eastern civiliza-
tion, No. 8. [New York, NY]: New York University Press, 1983.

Zedan, Faysal M. Political Development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)Claremont Graduate School,
1981.
Zegers, Jean-Benot. Foreign Investment Protection in Saudi Arabia, yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, Vol.
9 (2003-2004): 65-87.
138 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
rELIGIoN IN SAUDI ArABIA
Adawi, Nabil.Te Two Holy Mosques in Saudi Arabia: Historical Context, Modern Developments, and Cultural Signi-
cance. London: Gulf Centre for Strategic Studies, 1994.
Al Sharaf, Adel Abdulwaheb Eissa. A Comparative Study of the Development of the Primary Stage of Islamic Religious
Education in the State of Kuwait and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 1950 to 1990. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of
Sheeld, 1992.

Al-Atawneh, Muhammad. Is Saudi Arabia a Teocracy? Religion and Governance in Contemporary Saudi Arabia,
Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 45, No. 5 (2009): 721-737.

. Saudi Arabia: Why the Ulama are stalling liberalization, In Political Liberalization in the Persian Gulf. Ed.
Joshua Teitelbaum New York: Columbia University Press, 2009: 87-106
. Fatwas and Ifa in Saudi Arabia: A Study of Islamic Legal Tought, 1971-2000. [Beer Sheva]: [s.n.], 2004.

Al-Harrbi, Abdulaziz Salem. Te Housing of Pilgrims in Al-Madina: Islamic Principles and User Satisfaction. Wetherby:
British Library, 1998.

Al-Hedaithy, Mesaid Ibrahim. Moderization and Islam in Saudi Arabia: A Sociological Study of Public Morality Commit-
tees. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of Durham, 1989.

Al-Hefdhy, Yahya S. Te Role of the Ulama in Establishing an Islamic Education System for Women in Saudi Arabia. Te-
sis (Ph. D.)Florida State University, 1994.

Al-Jarbou, Ayoub M. A. Hisbah in Islam and Its Practice in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (LL. M.)Harvard Law School, 1992.

Al-Kilani, Kamal.Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Contemporary Islamic reform. Great Britain: K. Al-Kilani, 2001.

Al-Qhtani, Saleh Abdullah. An Analytical and Descriptive Study of Communication During Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Tesis (M.A.)University of Oklahoma, 1992.

Al-Rakeiba, Abdullah S.Movement and Transport of Pilgrims in the Hajj Region, Saudi Arabia: A Geographical Study.
Tesis (Ph. D.)University of Durham, 1991.

Al-Rasheed, Madawi.Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic Voices from a New Generation. Cambridge Middle East Studies,
25. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
. Saudi Arabia post 9/11: History, religion and security, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 43, No. 1 (2007): 153-160.
139 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
. Saudi Religious Transnationalism in London. In Transnational Connections and the Arab Gulf. Ed. Madawi al-
Rasheed London: Routledge, 2005: 149-167,
. Te Shia of Saudi Arabia: A minority in search of cultural authenticity, British Journal of Middle Eastern Stud-
ies, Vol. 25, No. 1 (1998): 121-138.
. Durable and non-durable dynasties: Te Rashds and Sads in Central Arabia, British Journal of Middle
Eastern Studies, Vol. 19 (1992): 144-158.
Al-Shehri, Ali Mohammad Ali. Attitudes Toward Technology in Saudi Arabia: An Analysis of quranic, other Islamic, and
Saudi Sources. Tesis (Ph. D.)Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2004.

Al-Turki, Abdulrahman A.N. Capital Punishment for Drug ofences in Islam and Its Application in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of London, 2000.

Al-Yassini, Ayman. Religion and Foreign Policy in Saudi Arabia. CDAS discussion papers, No. 2. Montreal, Qubec: Cen-
tre for Developing-Area Studies, McGill University], 1983.

Al-Yassini, Ayman.Religion and State in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Westview special studies on the Middle East.
Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1985.

Al-Zahrani, Abdul-Razzag.Saudi Arabian Development: A Sociological Study of Its Relation to Islam and Its Impacts on
Society. Tesis (Ph. D.)Washington State University, 1986.

Alafghani, Abdullah Sultan. A Study of the Hajj to the Holy City and a Design of the Pilgrims Accommodation Center in
Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M. of Arch.)Texas Tech University, 1987.

Alam, Anwar. religion and State: Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia ; (a Comparative Study). Delhi: Gyan Sagar Publ, 1998.

Alshamsi, Mansoor Jassem. Islam and Political Reform in Saudi Arabia: Te Quest for Political Change and Reform. Rout-
ledge studies in political Islam. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2007.

. Te Discourse and Performance of the Saudi Sunni Islamic reformist Leadership: 1981-2003. Exeter: University
of Exeter, 2003.

Avcu, Seyit Ali. religion As a Source of Legitimacy: Turkey and Saudi Arabia Cases. Tesis (M.A.)Rutgers University,
1997.

Ayoob, Mohammed, and Hasan Kosebalaban. Religion and Politics in Saudi Arabia: Wahhabism and the State. Boulder,
CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2009.
140 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Ayoob, Mohammed. Te Politics of Islamic Reassertion. New York: St. Martins Press, 1981.
Balci, Bayram. Uzbek and Uyghur Communities in Saudi Arabia and Teir Role in the Development of Wahhabism in
Present-day Central Asia, In Prospects for Democracy in Central Asia. Papers read at a conference in Istanbul, 1-3 June
2003, and additional chapters. Ed. Birgit N.Schlyter Istanbul: Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, 2005: 239-252.
Bangash, Zafar.Te Makkah Massacre and Future of the Haramain. London: Open Press, 1988.

Bedaiwi, Taweq Ibrahim M. Study of Selected Aspects of the Religious Education Curriculum and Its Implementation in
Saudi Arabian Secondary Schools. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of Keele, 1998.

Binladen, Abdullah M. Western Banking Practices and Sharia Law in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (LL. M.)Harvard Law
School, 1992.

Bishr, Muhammad ibn Sad. Religious Police in Saudi Arabia. [Saudi Arabia]: Ghainaa Publications, 2008.

Bishr, Muhammad ibn Sad. Saudis and Terror: Cross-Cultural Views. Riyadh: Ghainaa Publications, 2005.

Blanchard, Christopher M. Te Islamic Traditions of Wahhabism and Salayya. Washington, DC: Congressional Re-
search Service, Library of Congress, 2007. <http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21695.pdf>.

Cajar, Tristan Desiderio. Wahhabism: Unraveling the Myth. Tesis (M.A.)Calornia State University, Dominguez
Hills, 2007.

Colaco, Noel. Communicating Gods Love in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.A.M.)Talbot Teological Seminary, 1981.

Commins, David Dean. Te Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia. Library of modern Middle East studies, 50. London:
I.B. Tauris, 2006.

Conrad, Jessamyn Abigail Schafer. Divinely Provocative Places: Seeing the Invisible: Spatial Mediations of the Holy Harams
of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. Tesis (B.A.)Harvard University, 2000.

Coughlin, Kathryn M. Saudi Arabia, In Muslim Cultures Today: A Reference Guide. Ed. Kathryn M. Coughlin Westport,
CT: Greenwood Press, 2006: 159-170.
Davis, Nancy J. and Robert V. Robinson. Te Egalitarian Face of Islamic Orthodoxy: Support forIslamic Law and Eco-
nomic Justice in Seven Muslim-majority Nations, In Values and Perceptions ofhe Islamic and Middle Eastern Publics.
Ed. Mansoor Moaddel Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan,2007: 126-159.
141 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
DeAngelis, Gary Peter. Mecca and the Hajj: A Phenomenological Study. Tesis (Ph. D.)Boston University, 1986.

Delong-Bas, Natana J. Jihad For Islam: Te Struggle for the Future of Saudi Arabia. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2010.
.Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Doumato, Eleanor Abdella. Manning the Barricades: Islam according to Saudi Arabias School Texts, Te Middle East
Journal, Vol. 57, No. 2 (2003): 230-247.

. Getting Gods Ear: Women, Islam, and Healing in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. New York: Columbia University
Press, 2000.

Ende, Werner. Shiites and Sus in Saudi Arabia. Die Welt des Islams, v. 37, Nr. 3. Leiden: Brill, 1997.

Esposito, John L., and Dalia Mogahed. Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Tink. New York, NY: Gal-
lup Press, 2007.

Esposito, John L. Saudi Arabia: Te Flexibility of Islamic Fundamentalism. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information
Center, 1981.

Fandy, Mamoun H. State Islam and State Violence: Te Case of Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)Southern Illinois Univer-
sity at Carbondale, 1993.

Farsy, Fouad. Modernity and Tradition: Te Saudi Equation. Guernsey, Channel Islands: Knight Communications,
1994.

. Modernity and Tradition: Te Saudi Equation. London: Kegan Paul International, 1990.

Garman, Mary L. Islam As a Means to Modernization?: Saudi Arabia: a Case Study. Tesis (M.A.)Bowling Green State
University, 1985, 1985.

Gorman, Brandon C. Te Green Glass Ceiling Gender Inequality and Wahhabi Political Inuence. Tesis (M.A.)Uni-
versity of Georgia, 2009.

Hosford, Brian L.Te Two Capitals of Islam. Tesis (M.S.)Missouri State University, 2006.

Ibn Abd al-Azz, Faysal ibn Mashal ibn Sad.Te open Councils and the Islamic Concept of rule in Saudi Arabian
Politics. London: Gulf Centre for Strategic Studies, 2003.

142 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Ibrahim, Fouad N. Te Shiis of Saudi Arabia. London: Saqi, 2006.

Kramer, Martin S. Behind the Riot in Mecca. Washington, DC: Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1987.
Kruk, Remke. Harry Potter in the Gulf: Contemporary Islam and the occult, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies,
Vol. 32, No. 1 (2005): 47-73.

Lacroix, Stephane. Neither Islamist, Nor Liberal: Saudi Arabias Emerging Centrist Trend, Te Middle East Journal, Vol.
58, No. 3 (2004): 345-365.

Laan, M. F.Te Umma Below the Winds: Mecca, Cairo, reformist Islam and a Conceptualization of Indonesia. Tesis (Ph.
D.)School of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Sydney, 2001, 2000.

Maass, Alexander Reilly.Politico-Religious Instability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Te Neo-Ikhwan and the Grand
Mosque Rebellion of 1979. Tesis (B.A. with honors)Amherst College, 2006, 2006.

Masud, Muhammad Khalid, Brinkley Morris Messick, and David Stephan Powers.Islamic Legal Interpretation: Mufis
and Teir Fatwas. Harvard studies in Islamic law. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1996.

Meijer, Roel.Global Salasm: Islams New Religious Movement. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.

Moaddel, M. Te Saudi Public Speaks: Religion, Gender, and Politics, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol.
38, No. 1 (2006): 79-108.

Moaddel, Mansoor, and Stuart A. Karabenick. Religious Fundamentalism among Young Muslims in Egypt and Saudi
Arabia, Social Forces, Vol. 86, No. 4 (2008): 1675-1710.

Molan, Peter D., Safr ibn Abd al-Rahmn Hawl, Salmn ibn Fahd Awdah, and id Quran. Arabic Religious Rhetoric:
Te Radical Saudi Sheikhs : a Reader. Kensington, Md: Dunwoody Press, 1997.

Nagunian, David R. Saudi Arabia: A Hotbed of Unrest? New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2009.

Nevo, J. Religion and National Identity in Saudi Arabia, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 34, No. 3 (1998): 34-53.

Ochsenwald, William. Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Revival, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 13, No.
3 (1981): 271-286.

Openshaw, M. Religion and Regime Legitimacy: Te al-Saud, Wahhabism, and Saudi ArabianPolitics, Journal of Ara-
bic, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2 (1994): 76-89.
143 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Okruhlik, Gwenn. Empowering Civility Trough Nationalism: Reformist Islam and belonging inSaudi Arabia, In Re-
making Muslim Politics: pluralism, contestation, democratization. Robert W. Hefner, Ed. Princeton & Oxford: Princeton
University Press, 2005: 189-212.
Otto, Jan Michiel.Sharia and National Law in Muslim Countries Tensions and opportunities for Dutch and EU Foreign
Policy. Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2008.

Poore, Crystal Dawn.Te origins of Saudi Legitimacy and Power: A Study of the Saudi-Wahhabi relationship in Histori-
cal Context. Tesis (Honors)College of William and Mary, 2004.

Rippin, Andrew. World Islam: Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies. London: Routledge, 2008.

Salame, Ghassan. Islam and Politics in Saudi Arabia, Arab Studies Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 3 (1987): 306-326.
Schwartz, Stephen. Sharia in Saudi Arabia, Today and Tomorrow, In Radical Islams rules: theworldwide spread of ex-
treme Sharia (2005): 19-40.
Sikand, Yoginder. Stoking the Flames: Intra-Muslim rivalries in India and the Saudi connection, Comparative Studies
of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Vol. 27, No. 1 (2007): 95-108.
Silvey, Rachel. Transnational Islam: Indonesian migrant domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, In Geographies of Muslim
Women: gender, religion, and space. Ed. Ghazi-Walid Falah & Caroline NagelNew York: Te Guilford Press, 2005: 127-
146.
Vidyasagar, Girija and David M. Rea. Saudi women doctors: Gender and careers within WahhabicIslam and a wester-
nised work culture, Womens Studies International Forum, Vol. 27, No.3 (2004): 261-280.

Tollitz, Nino P. Saudi Arabia: Terrorism, US relations and oil. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2005.

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Saudi Arabia. Washington, DC: US Commission on
International Religious Freedom, 2000s. <http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS101241>.

United States. Saudi Arabia International religious Freedom report 2003. [Washington, DC]: Dept. of State, 2003. <http://
www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003/24461.htm>.

Uthup, Tomas. Religious Values and Public Policy: A Comparative Analysis of Islam and Development in Four Islamic
States, 1970-1990. Tesis (Ph. D.)State University of New York at Binghamton, Dept. of Political Science, 1996.

Vogel, Frank. E. Te Public and Private in Saudi Arabia: Restrictions on the Powers of Committees for Ordering the
Good and Forbidding the Evil, Social Research, No. 70 (2003): 749-770.
144 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
. .Islamic Law and Legal System: Studies of Saudi Arabia. Studies in Islamic law and society, v. 8. Leiden: Brill,
2000.

Waklat al-Anb al-Sadyah. Te Islamic conference held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the course of the Arab Gulf
incidents: documents of Saudi Press Agency. Saudi Arabia: Ministry of Information, Saudi Press Agency, 1993.

Wilcke, Christoph. Te Ismailis of Najran: Second-Class Saudi Citizens. New York, NY: Human Rights Watch, 2008.
<http://hrw.org/reports/2008/saudiarabia0908/>.

Wilcke, Christoph. Denied Dignity Systematic Discrimination and Hostility Toward Saudi Shia Citizens. New York, NY:
Human Rights Watch, 2009. <http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/09/03/denied-dignity-0>.

Yamur, Hseyin, and Zlfe Eyles. Pilgrimage in Islam: A Comprehensive Guide to the Hajj. Islam in practice. Somerset,
NJ: Te Light, Inc, 2007.

Yamani, Mai. Muslim Women and Human Rights: Te new generation in Saudi Arabia. InDemocracy, the rule of Law
and Islam. E. Cotran and Adel Omar Sherif, Eds. Te Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1999: 477-488.
Yeilada, Birol A. Islamic Fundamentalism in Turkey and the Saudi Connection. [Indianapolis, Ind.]: Universities Field
Sta International, 1989.

Zacharow, Steven Michael. Islam in the Nation-State: Case Studies of Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.A.)Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, 1990.
EDUCATIoN IN SAUDI ArABIA
Al Rawaf, Haya Saad, and Cyril Simmons.1991. Te Education of Women in Saudi Arabia.Comparative Education. 27,
No. 3: 287-95.

Al-Hefdhy, Yahya S.Te Role of the Ulama in Establishing an Islamic Education System for Women in Saudi Arabia. Tesis
(Ph. D.)Florida State University, 1994, 1994.

Al-Khalil, Khalil.Bedouin Education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.S.)University of Southern California,
1983.

Bellew, Rosemary Terese.Foundations of Islamic Education and a Saudi Perspective. Tesis (M.A.)University of Il-
linois at Urbana-Champaign, 1982.

Center for Religious Freedom (Washington, DC).Saudi Arabias Curriculum of Intolerance With Excerpts from Saudi
145 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Ministry of Education Textbooks for Islamic Studies. Washington, DC: Center for Religious Freedom, 2006. <http://www.
freedomhouse.org/uploads/special_report/48.pdf>.

Determann, Matthias. Te Crusades in Arab School Textbooks. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. 19, No. 2 (2008):
199-214.
Doumato, Eleanor Abdella. Saudi Arabia: From Wahhabi Roots to contemporary revisionism,Teaching Islam: text-
books and religion in the Middle East. Ed. Eleanor Abdella Doumato, Gregory Starrett Boulder: Rienner, 2007: 153-176.

Groiss, Arnon.Te West, Christians, and Jews in Saudi Arabian Schoolbooks: Abridged Version. New York: Center for
Monitoring the Impact of Peace, American Jewish Committee, 2003.

Hamid, Mohammed Muejeb. Te Negative Implications of a Rentier Society on Academic Achievement: A Case Study of
Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of California, Los Angeles, 1986.

Husain, Syed Sajjad. Te Teaching of English poetry in Saudi Arabian Universities: Te problem and the solution,
Muslim Education Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 1 (1985): 30-42.
Prokop, Michaela. Saudi Arabia: Te Politics of Education, International Aairs, Vol. 79, No. 1 (2003): 77-89.

Roy, D.A. Saudi Arabian Education: Development policy, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 28, No. 3
(1992): 477-508.
Rugh, William A. Education in Saudi Arabia: Choices and constraints, Middle East Policy,Vol. 9, No.
2 (2002): 40-55.

Salem, Mohammed Saad.Te Interplay of Tradition and Modernity: A Field Study of Saudi Policy and Educational Devel-
opment. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of California, Santa Barbara, 1981.

Saudi Arabia.E ducation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Within the Last Hundred years. Riyadh: Ministry of Education],
2001.

Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in the United States of America.Education in Saudi Arabia. Washington, DC: Saudi
Arabian Cultural Mission in the United States of America, 1991.
Shaw, Kenneth E. Issues in Muslim Education in the Gulf and Saudi Arabia, Maghreb Review, Vol. 28, No. 4 (2003):
281-293.
UN. General Assembly (47th sess. : 1992-1993).Cooperation between the United Nations and the organization of the
146 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Islamic Conference: Resolution. [New York]: UN, 1993. <http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?OpenAgent&DS=A/
RES/47/18&Lang=A>.

United States. Various resolutions Markup Before the Committee on International relations, one Hundred Ninth Con-
gress, First Session, on H. Con. res. 190, H. Con. res. 275, H. Con. res. 280, H. Con. res. 284, H. Con. res. 294, H. res. 438,
H. res. 456, H. res. 458, H. res. 479, H. res. 499, H. res. 529 and H. res. 535, November 16, 2005. Washington: US G.P.O.,
2006. <http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS71423>.

United States.Urging Member States of the UN to Stop Supporting Resolutions Tat Unfairly Castigate Israel and to Pro-
mote More Constructive Approaches to Resolving Conict in the Middle East; the Education Curriculum in the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia; Honoring the Life of Israeli Prime Minister yitzhak rabin; and the 2005 Presidential and Parliamentary
Elections in Egypt Markup Before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia of the Committee on Interna-
tional relations, House of representatives, one Hundred Ninth Congress, First Session, on H. res. 438, H. Con. res. 275,
H. res. 535, and H. Con. res. 284, November 15, 2005. Washington: US G.P.O., 2006. <http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/
LPS66745>.

United States.Urging Member States of the UN to Stop Supporting Resolutions Tat Unfairly Castigate Israel and to Pro-
mote More Constructive Approaches to Resolving Conict in the Middle East; the Education Curriculum in the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia; Honoring the Life of Israeli Prime Minister yitzhak rabin; and the 2005 Presidential and Parliamentary
Elections in Egypt: Markup Before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia of the Committee on Interna-
tional relations, House of representatives, one Hundred Ninth Congress, First Session, on H. res. 438, H. Con. res. 275, H.
res. 535, and H. Con. res. 284, November 15, 2005. Washington: US G.P.O., 2006.

ISLAMISM, FUNDAMENTALISM AND TErrorISM
Al Doghere, Fahad. Te Long War Against Terrorism in Saudi Arabia. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center,
2008. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA491325>.
Al-Gurashi, Salem Monis. A History of the Violence in the Grand Mosque. Tesis (M.A., Criminal Justice)California
State University, Sacramento, 1985.

al-Rasheed, Madawi. Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic voices from a new generation. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2007.
. Saudi Arabias Islamic Opposition, Current History, Vol. 95, No. 597 (1996): 16-22.

Ansary A.F. Combating Extremism: A Brief Overview of Saudi Arabias Approach, Middle East Policy, Vol. 15, No. 2
(2008): 111-142.
147 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Ansari, M-H. Te Islamic Boomerang in Saudi Arabia: Te Cost of Delayed Reforms. New Delhi: Samskriti, 2004.

Ayoob, Mohammed. Te Politics of Islamic Reassertion. New York: St. Martins Press, 1981.

Bahgat, Gawdat Saudi Arabia and the War on Terrorism, Arab Studies Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 1 (2004): 51-64.

Bergen, Peter L. Holy War, Inc. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2001.

Bishr, Muhammad ibn Sad. Saudis and Terror: Cross-Cultural Views. Riyadh: Ghainaa Publications, 2005.

Boucek, Christopher. Saudi Arabias Sof Counterterrorism Strategy: Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Afercare. Washing-
ton, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2008.

Bouchaib, Silm. Notes on al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, Asian Journal of Social Science, Vol. 35, Nos. 4
5 (2007): 528-553.

Boyle, Michael J. Te War on Terror in American Grand Strategy, International Aairs, Vol. 84, No. 2 (2008): 191-209.

Bradshaw, John Charles. Islamic Fundamentalism in Egypt and Saudi Arabia: An overview of Its resurgence and the Po-
tential Eects on US Foreign Policy. Report (M. Public Aairs)University of Texas at Austin, 1990.

Cohen, William S. Personal Accountability for Force Protection at Khobar Towers. Washington, DC: Dept. of Defense],
1997.

Cordesman, Anthony H. Saudi Arabia: Friend or Foe in the War on Terror? Middle East Policy, Vol. 13, No. 1 (2006):
28-41.

Gause, F. Gregory. Saudi Arabia Challenged Afer Deadly Attacks in Riyadh, the Saudi Princes No Longer Can Deny the
Terrorist Challenge, Current History, Vol. 103, No. 669 (2004): 21-24.

Gold, Dore. Hatreds Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub-
lishers, 2004.

Hegghammer, Tomas and Stphane Lacroix. Rejectionist islamism in saudi arabia: Te story of juhayman al-Utaybi
revisited, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 39, No. 1 (2007): 103-122.
Hegghammer, Tomas. Islamist Violence and Regime Stability in Saudi Arabia, International Aairs. Vol. 84, No. 4
(2008): 701-715.
148 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
,Terrorist Recruitment and Radicalization in Saudi Arabia, Middle East Policy, Vol. 13, No. 4 (2006): 39-60.

House of Representatives National Security Committee. Washington, DC. Te Khobar Towers Bombing Incident. Ft.
Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 1996. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA337935>.

Human Rights Watch (Organization). Human Rights and Saudi Arabias Counterterrorism Response Religious Counsel-
ing, Indenite Detention, and Flawed Trials. New York, NY: Human Rights Watch, 2009. <http://www.hrw.org/sites/
default/les/reports/saudiarabia0809webwcover.pdf>.

Hussain, Syed Rifaat. Responding to TerroristTthreat: Perspectives from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Journal of South
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 30, No. 3 (2007): 38-61.
International Crisis Group.Saudi Arabia Backgrounder Who Are the Islamists? ICG Middle East report, No. 31. Amman:
International Crisis Group, 2004.

Jamieson, Perry D. Khobar Towers: Tragedy and Response. Washington, DC: Air Force History and Museums Program,
2008.

Kechichian, Joseph A. Extremism and opposition Movements on the Arabian Peninsula. New Delhi: Observer Research
Foundation, 2006.
Khunaizi, Tayseer. Extremism and Prospects for Sociopolitical Transformation in Saudi Arabia. roots and routes of de-
mocracy and extremism: a broad based dialogue on the development of democracy and extremism in countries with large
Muslim populations, october, 2005. Haikkoontie, Finland. Timo Hellenberg and Kelly Robbins, Eds. Helsinki: Aleksan-
teri Institute, 2006: 108-132.
Korany, Baghat and Moataz A. Fattah. Irreconcilable Role-Partners? Saudi Foreign Policy between the Ulama and the
US, In Te Foreign Policies of Arab States: Te challenges of Globalization. New Revised Edition. Baghat Korany and Ali
E. Hillal Dessouki, Eds. Cairo American University Cairo Press, 2008: 343-396.
Kramer, Gudrun. Good Counsel to the King: Te Islamist Opposition in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Morocco, In Middle
East Monarchies: the Challenge of Modernity. Joseph Kostiner, Ed. Boulder, CO: Rienner, 2000: 257-287.

Maass, Alexander Reilly. Politico-Religious Instability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Te Neo-Ikhwan and the Grand
Mosque Rebellion of 1979. Tesis (B.A. with honors)Amherst College, 2006.

Meijer, Roel. Global Salasm: Islams New Religious Movement. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.
. Ysuf al-Uyair and the Making of a Revolutionary Sala Praxis, Welt Des Islams, Vol. 47, Nos. 3-4 (2007):
149 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
422-459.
. Te Cycle of Contention and the Limits of Terrorism in Saudi Arabia, In Saudi Arabia in the Balance: political
economy, society, foreign aairs. Paul Aarts, Gerd Nonneman, Eds. London: Hurst, 2005: 271-311.
Migdalovitz, Carol. Saudi Arabia: Facing an Islamist threat? In Saudi Arabia: issues, historical background, and bibliog-
raphy. Sophie Pompea, Ed. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2002: 1-8.
Murawiec, Laurent. Princes of Darkness: Te Saudi Assault on the West. Lanham: Rowman & Littleeld Publishers,
2005.

Obaid, Nawaf E., and Anthony H. Cordesman. Saudi Militants in Iraq Assessment and Kingdoms Response. Washington,
DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2005.

Okruhlik, Gwenn. Networks of Dissent: Islamism and reform in Saudi Arabia, Current History, Vol. 101, No. 651
(2002): 22-28.

Pharaon, Nora. 2004. Saudi Women and the Muslim State in the Twenty-First Century, Sex Roles, Vol. 51, Nos. 5-6:
5-6.

Rathmell, Andrew, and Mustafa M. Alani. Saudi Arabia: Te Treat from Within. Coulsdon, UK: Janes Information
Group, 1996.

Rudolph, Rachael M. Identity, Foreign Policy, and the War on Terrorism in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.A.) American
University, 2006.

Sadiki, Larbi. Saudi Arabia: Re-reading politics and religion in the wake of September 11, In Islam And political legiti-
macy. Shahram Akbarzadeh and Abdullah Saeed, Eds. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003: 29-49.
Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabias Stance on Terrorism. [Saudi Arabia]: Al-Qimam Multimedia, 2004.

Shavit, U. Al-Qaedas Saudi Origins: Saudi Conspiracy Teorists Laid the Ground for Osama Bin Laden, Middle East
Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 4 (2006): 3-14.

Silm, Bouchaib. Notes on Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, Asian Journal of Social Science, Vol. 35, No. 4 (2007): 528.

Spence, Floyd D. Te Khobar Towers Bombing Incident: Sta Report. Washington, DC: Te Committee, 1996.

Swope, Richard T., and Bryan G. Hawley. Khobar Report: Report of Investigation Concerning Tghe Khobar Towers Bomb-
150 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
ing, 25 June 1996. Washington, DC: Dept. of the Army, 1998.

Teitelbaum, Joshua. Holier Tan Tou: Saudi Arabias Islamic opposition. Washington, DC: Washington Institute for
Near East Policy, 2000.

Tollitz, Nino P. Saudi Arabia: Terrorism, US relations and oil. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2005.

Tromov, Yaroslav. Te Siege of Mecca: Te Forgotten Uprising in Islams Holiest Shrine and the Birth of Al Qaeda. New
York: Doubleday, 2007.

United States. Terrorist Attack against United States Military Forces in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: Hearing Held, September
18, 1996. Washington: US G.P.O., 1997.

United States. Bomb Attack in Saudi Arabia Hearings Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, one
Hundred Fourth Congress, Second Session, July 9 and September 18, 1996. Washington: US G.P.O., 1997. <http://www.
archive.org/details/bombattackinsaud00unit>.

United States. Terrorism Financing: origination, organization, and Prevention: Hearing Before the Committee on Gov-
ernmental Afairs, United States Senate, one Hundred Eighth Congress, First Session, July 31, 2003. Washington, DC: US
G.P.O., 2004.

Wright, Lawrence. Te Looming Tower: Al-qaeda and the road to 9/11. New York: Knopf, 2006.

Zuhur, Sherifa. Saudi Arabia: Islamic Treat, Political Reform, and the Global War on Terror. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Techni-
cal Information Center, 2005. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA431277>.
WoMENS ISSUES
Abd Al-Hay, A. A. Contemporary womens participation in public activities: Dierences between ideal Islam and Muslim
interpretation with emphasis on Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of Denver, 1983.

Ahmed, Q. In the land of invisible women: A female doctors journey in the Saudi Kingdom. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks
2008.

Al Munajjed, M. Saudi women speak: 24 remarkable women tell their success stories. Beirut [u.a.]: Arab Inst. for Research
and Publ., 2006.

Al Rawaf, H.S., & Simmons, C. Te Education of Women in Saudi Arabia, Comparative Education, Vol. 27, No. 3 (1991):
287-95.
151 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Al-Baadi, H.M. Social change, education, and the roles of women in Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)Stanford University, 1982.

Al-Baz, R. Disgured: A Saudi womans story of triumph over violence. Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press, 2009.

Al-hazzaa, A.M. Scenario projections for women in Saudi Arabia: Teir changing status, educational and employment op-
portunities by the year 2010. Tesis (Ph. D.)University of Minnesota, 1993.

Al-Hefdhy, Y. S. Te role of the Ulama in establishing an Islamic education system for women in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph.
D.)Florida State University, 1994.

al-Manea, A. A. Historical and contemporary policies of womens education in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)University
of Michigan, 1984.

Al-Oteiby, M. K. Te participation of women in the labor force of Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)North Texas State Uni-
versity, 1982.

Alari, M. A. Saudi Arabian women in the work force under the Islamic codes. Tesis (M.P.A.)California State Univer-
sity, Chico, 1989.

Almulhim, A. S. obstacles to bringing women into the labor force in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.P.A.)California State Uni-
versity, Chico, 1984.
Almosaed, Nora. Violence against women: A cross-cultural perspective, Journal of Muslim Minority Aairs, Vol. 4, No.
1 (2004): 67-8.

AlMunajjed, M. Women in Saudi Arabia Today. New York: St. Martins Press, 2007

Alrobaee, M. Te quantitative accomplishments of the general, higher, female, and reading education in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia from 1960-1990. Morgantown, W. VA: [West Virginia University Libraries, 2004]. https://etd.wvu.edu/etd/
controller.jsp?moduleName=documentdata&jsp%5FetdId=3670.

Altorki, Soraya. Sisterhood and Stewardship in Sister-Brother Relations in Saudi Arabia. In Te new Arab Family / Al-
Usra al-Arabya al-jadda. Nicholas S.Hopkins, Ed. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2003: 180-200.

. Te concept and practice of citizenship in saudi arabia. Gender and citizenship in the Middle
East. Suad Joseph, Ed. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2000: 217-236.

. Women development and employment in saudi arabia: Te case of Unayzah, Journal of Developing Societies,
No. 8 (1992): 96-110.
152 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
. At home in the eld, In Arab women in the eld: studying your own society. Soraya Altorki and Camillia Fawzi
el-Solh, Eds. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 1989: 49-68.
. Te ideology and praxis of female employment in saudi Arabia, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern
Studies, Vol. 10, No. 4 (1987): 51-76.
. Women in Saudi Arabia: Ideology and Behavior among the Elite. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986.

Amnesty International USA. Saudi Arabia: Gross Human Rights Abuses against Women. New York: Amnesty Interna-
tional, 2000.

Arebi, S. Women and Words in Saudi Arabia: Te Politics of Literary Discourse. New York: Columbia University Press,
1994.

Assad, Soraya. Current Status of Literature on Muslim Women: A Case Study, Journal of Muslim Minority Aairs, Vol.
10, No. 1 (1989): 171-198.
Attar, E.A. Major personal and social problems faced by divorced Saudi Arabian women. Tesis (Ed. D., Counseling and
Education Psychology Program)University of San Francisco, 1987.

Bahry, Louay. Te New Saudi Woman: Modernizing in an Islamic Framework, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 36, No. 4
(1982): 502-515.
Basrawi, F. Arabias hidden America: A Saudi womans memoir. Reading, UK: South Street Press, 2007.

Bubshait, A.-J. Woman in Saudi Arabia: Cross-cultural views. [Saudi Arabia]: Ghainaa Publications, 2008.

De Jong, O.A. Perception of the female role in Saudi Arabian society. [Tucson]: University of Arizona, 1988.

Doumato, Eleanor. A. Getting Gods ear: Women, Islam, and healing in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. New York: Columbia
University Press, 2000.
. Women and Work in Saudi Arabia: How Flexible Are Islamic Margins? Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 53, No.
4 (1999): 568-583.

. Education in Saudi Arabia: Gender, Jobs, and the Price of Religion, In Women and Globalization in the Arab
Middle East: Gender, Economy, and Society. Eleanor Abdella Doumato and Marsha Pripstein Posusney, Eds. Boulder,
CO: L. Rienner Publishers, 2003: 239-257.

153 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
. Women in Saudi Arabia: Between Breadwinner and Domestic Icon? In Women and power in the Middle East.
Suad Joseph and Susan Slyomovics, Eds. Philadephia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001: 166-175; 215-216.

. Te Ambiguity of Sharia and the Politics of Rights in Saudi Arabia, In Faith and Freedom: Womens Human
Rights in the Muslim World. Mahnaz Afhami, Ed. New York: I.B. Tauris and Co, 2000.
Esposito, John. L., and Natana DeLong-Bas. Women in Muslim Family Law. Contemporary issues in the Middle East.
Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2001.

Gorman, B. C. Te Green Glass Ceiling Gender Inequality and Wahhabi Political Inuence. Tesis (M.A.)University of
Georgia, 2009.

Hameed Al-Khateeb, S.A. Muslim Womens Perception of Equality: Case Study of Saudi Women, Mediterranean Quar-
terly, Vol. 9, No. 2 (1998): 110-131.

Harb, D. b. M., & Roberg-Abahsain, J. A. Prominent women from Central Arabia. Reading, UK: Ithaca Press, 2008.

Harkless, M. M. Women Hidden by a Veil: An exploration of Islam and womens rights. Tesis (Honors in International
Studies)Millersville University of Pennsylvania, 2001.

Husain, S. Voices of resistance: Muslim women on war, faith & sexuality. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press, 2006.

Ide BA, & Sanli T. Health beliefs and behaviors of Saudi women, Women & Health, Vol. 19, No. 1 (1992): 97-113.

Le Renard, A. Only for Women: Women, the State, and Reform in Saudi Arabia, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 62, No.
4 (2008): 610-629.

Littlewood, J., & Harrow, J. Drawing the Veil?: Some Reections on Joint Research Supervision of Women Students in
Saudi Arabia, International Journal of Social Science Methodology, Vol. 2 (1999): 231-246.

Mashat, S. H. A Rhetorical Analysis of the Image of Saudi Women in Two Specic Cross-cultural Media Messages. Tesis
(Ph. D.)Pennsylvania State University, 1985.

Masry, F., and Chenard, S. Running for all the Right Reasons: A Saudi-born womans pursuit of democracy. Syracuse, NY:
Syracuse University Press, 2008.

Mishra, S. Liberation vs. Purity: Representations of Saudi Women in the American Press and American Women in the
Saudi Press, Howard Journal of Communications, Vol 18, No. 3 (2007): 259-276.
154 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Moaddel, Mansoor. Te Saudi Public Speaks: Religion, gender, and politics, In Values and perceptions of the Islamic and
Middle Eastern Publics. Mansoor Moaddel, Ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007: 209-246.
Nawwab, Nimah Ismail. Te Social and Political Elements that Drive the Poetic Journey, In Popular Culture and Politi-
cal Identity in the Arab Gulf States. Alanoud Alsharekh and Robert Springborg, Eds. London: Saqi, in association with
London Middle East Institute SOAS, 2008: 85-96,
Sakr, N. Women and Media in Saudi Arabia: Rhetoric, Reductionism and Realities, British Journal of Middle Eastern
Studies, Vol. 35, No. 3 (2008): 385-404.

Sasson, J. P. Princess: A true story of life behind the veil in Saudi Arabia. New York: Morrow, 1992.

Silvey, R. Transnational domestication: state power and Indonesian migrant women in Saudi Arabia, Political Geogra-
phy. Vol. 23, No. 3 (2004): 245-264.

Silvey, Rachel. Transnational Islam: Indonesian migrant domestic workers in Saudi Arabia In. Geographies of Muslim
Women: Gender, Religion, and Space. Ghazi-Walid Falah and Caroline Nagel, Eds. New York: Te Guilford Press, 2005:
127-146.
Stienen, P. Temes in Saudi Womens Literature, British Society for Middle Eastern Studies Bulletin (1991): 367-377.
Yamani, Mai. Muslim Women and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, In Women and Islam. Volume I: Images and Reali-
ties. Haideh Moghissi, Ed. London and New York: Routledge, 2005: 402-410.
. Muslim Women and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia: Aspirations of a New Generation, In Te rule of Law in
the Middle East and the Islamic World: Human Rights and the Judicial Process. Eugene Cotran and Mai Yamani, Eds. Lon-
don: Tauris, in association with the Centre of Islamic Studies and Middle Eastern Law, School of Oriental and African
Studies, University of London, 2000: 137-143.
. Muslim Women and Human Rights: Te New Generation in Saudi Arabia, In Democracy, the rule of Law and
Islam. E. Cotran and Adel Omar Sherif, Eds. Te Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1999: 477-488.

. Some Observations on Women in Saudi Arabia. Feminism and Islam: Legal and Literary Perspectives.Ed.Mai
Yamani1996). : 263-281, h
SAUDI-AMErICAN rELATIoNS
AbuKhalil, Asad.Saudia Arabia & the US: Te Tale of the Good Taliban. Open media series. New York: Seven Stories,
2003.
155 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Aarts, Paul and Joris van Duijne. Te Saudi Security Environment: Plus Ca Change.., In Te Arab State and Neo-Liberal
Globalization: Te restructuring of State Power in the Middle East. Reading: Ithaca Press, 2009: 275-298.
Al-Babtein, Ahmed. Saudi Arabia and United States Multinationals A Partnership in Economic Development. Tesis
(M.A.)North Texas State University, 1986.

Al-Semmari, Fahd, and Jill A. Roberg. Forever friends: Americans share their fondest memories of work life in the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia, 1938-1998. Riyadh: King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives, 1999.

Al-Shalawi, Hamdan Ghareeb. Refusal Strategies in Saudi and American Cultures. Tesis (M.A.)Michigan State Uni-
versity. Dept. of Linguistics & Languages, 1997.

Algahtani, Ali Hussain. Leadership Personality, Power, and Economic Interdependence Panel Data Analysis of the Foreign
Policy Behavior between Saudi Arabia and the United States from 1965 to 2005. Morgantown, W. VA: [West Virginia Uni-
versity Libraries, 2007] <https://eidr.wvu.edu/etd/documentdata.eTD?documentid=5392>.

Alyas, Abdulmohsen F. Te Role of the US Congress in Framing the Image of Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.Politics)
Catholic University of America, 2007.

Anthony, J.D. Saudi Arabian-Yemeni Relations: Implications for US Policy, Middle East Policy, Vol. 7, No. 2 (2000): 78-
96.

Aufauser, D., F. Anderson, D. E. Long, N. Kern, and H. Shobokshi. Saudi Arabia, Enemy or Friend? Middle East Policy,
Vol. 11, No. 1 (2004): 1-25.

Bahgat, Gawdat. Te New Geopolitics of Oil: Te United States, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, orbis, 47, No. 3 (2003): 447-
461.

Bandow, Doug. Befriending Saudi Princes: A High Price for a Dubious Alliance. Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 2002.

Barlow, Keith A., and Robert G. Darius. Iran and Saudi Arabia: Problems and Possibilities for the United States in the
Midrange. Strategic issues research memorandum. Carlisle Barracks, Pa: Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War Col-
lege, 1983.

Bents, Eric Randolph.Te Sale of US Military Aircraf to Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.A.)University of Texas at Austin,
1995.

Bishop, Richard Wineld. Training and Education Program Negotiations between Americans and Saudi Arabians. Tesis
(Ed. D.)University of West Florida, 1999.
156 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Blakeney, John O.United States Policy in the Gulf Region. USAWC strategy research project. Carlisle Barracks, Pa: US
Army War College, 1996.

Blanchard, Christopher M.Saudi Arabia: Background and US Relations. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Cen-
ter, 2008. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA482806>.

Bowers, William J., and George Walter Gawrych.Saudi Arabia and the United States Plans for Middle East Defense. Waco,
Tex: Baylor University, 2006. <http://hdl.handle.net/2104/4839>.

Bowman, Bradley L. Realism and Idealism: US Policy Toward Saudi Arabia, from the Cold War to Today. Ft. Belvoir: De-
fense Technical Information Center, 2006.

Bronson, Rachel. Rethinking Religion: Te Legacy of the US-Saudi Relationship, Washington Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 4
(2005): 121-137.

Bronson, Rachel. Ticker Tan oil: Americas Uneasy Partnership with Saudia Arabia. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2008.

Castaneda, Laura W, Lawrence M Hanser, and Constance H Davis. Te Role of Deployments in Competency Develop-
ment: Experience from Prince Sultan Air Base and Eskan Village in Saudia Arabia. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Infor-
mation Center, 2004. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA440176>.

Clawson, Patrick. US-GCC Security Relations, II: Growing Domestic Economic and Political Problems. Strategic Forum,
No. 40. [Washington, DC]: Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, 1995.

Cohen, William S. Personal Accountability for Force Protection at Khobar Towers. Washington, DC: Dept. of Defense],
1997.

Conant, Melvin A. oil Prices and the Saudi-US Connection. Washington, DC: Conant, 1991.

Conant, Melvin A., and Fern Racine Gold. Access to oilthe United States relationships with Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Honolulu, Hawaii: University Press of the Pacic, 2003.

Cordesman, Anthony H. Saudi National Security and the Saudi-US Strategic Partnership. Washington, DC: Center for
Strategic & International Studies, 2008. <http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/081203_saudibrief.pdf>.

Creamer, Robert L., and James C. Seat. Khobar Towers: Te Afermath and Implications for Commanders. Maxwell Air
Force Base, AL: Air War College, Air University, 1998.

157 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Dowling, Kevin S. American Middle East Policy: Increasing the Treat to US Forces in Saudi Arabia? Ft. Belvoir: Defense
Technical Information Center, 2001. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA401343>.

Fesharaki, Fereidun, and J. Philip Hinson. Economic Dimensions of US Relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia in the 1980s.
Strategic issues research memorandum. Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, 1982.

Fox, Darin J. American Policy in the Persian Gulf Region: Peace, Security, and the Spread of Democracy. Ft. Belvoir: De-
fense Technical Information Center, 2008. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA490584>.

Gause, F. Gregory. Te Approaching Turning Point: Te Future of US Relations with the Gulf States. Washington, DC:
Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, 2003.

Goetz, Adam N. Demographics: Te Downfall of Saudi Arabia. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 2003.
<http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA420427>.

Heard, Falkner, III. Strategic Importance of Saudi Arabia Neither a Friend nor Foe. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Infor-
mation Center, 2003. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA414079>.

Hunter, Timothy N. Appeasing the Saudis, Middle East Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 1 (1996): 4-11.

Jamieson, Perry D. Khobar Towers: Tragedy and Response. Washington, DC: Air Force History and Museums Program,
2008.

Jasper, Marc W. Security Assistance in the Persian Gulf and the Roots of the Nixon Doctrine. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical
Information Center, 1997. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA342539>.

Johnson, Garey A. US Arms Shipments to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia During the Ronald Reagan Presidency: In Search
of a Policy Paradigm. Tesis (D.P.A.)University of Southern California, 1992.

Karn, Jacob R. Saudi Arabia: Friend or Foe. Tesis (M.S.)Southwest Missouri State University, 2005.

Katz, Mark. What Do We Do If the Saudi Monarchy Falls? Comparative Strategy, Vol. 22, No. 1 (2003): 45-58.

Katzman, Kenneth. Te Persian Gulf States: Post-War Issues for US Policy, 2003. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Informa-
tion Center, 2003. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA476231>.

Kemp, P., and V. Petrossian. Saudi Arabia/Iran: Te Historic Visit of Iranian President Khatami to Saudi Arabia Is a
Milestone in the Rehabilitation of the Islamic Republic, Middle East Economic Digest, Vol. 43, No. 20 (1999): 2-3.

158 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Kraig, Michael. Te United States, Iran, and Saudi Arabia: Necessary Steps Toward a New Gulf Security order. Muscatine,
IA: Stanley Foundation, 2006.

Kuniholm, Bruce Robellet. What the Saudis Really Want: A Primer for the Reagan Administration, orbis, No. 251
(1981): 107-121.

Lamont, Clarissa Evans. Te United States and Saudi Arabia: Strategic Allies. Tesis (M.A.)American University in
Cairo, 1996.

Lippman, Tomas W. Inside the Mirage: Americas Fragile Partnership with Saudi Arabia. Boulder, CO: Westview Press,
2004.

Long, David E. US-Saudi Relations: Evolution, Current Conditions, and Future Prospects. Mediterranean Quarterly,
Vol. 15, No. 3 (2004): 24-37.

Macalintal, Jr., Romeo R. Two Independent Pillars of Policy Te Saudi and American Approaches to Iran. Ft. Belvoir:
Defense Technical Information Center, 2008. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA487212>.

Magnus, Ralph H. Problems and Prospects for US Policy Toward Iran and Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. Ft. Belvoir: Defense
Technical Information Center, 1983.

McMillan, J., A. Cordesman, M. Fandy, and F. Mohamedi. Symposium: Te United States and Saudi Arabia: American
Interests and Challenges to the Kingdom in 2002, Middle East Policy, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2002): 1-28.

McMillan, Joseph. US-Saudi Relations Rebuilding the Strategic Consensus. Strategic Forum, No. 186. [Washington,
DC]: Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, 2001. <http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/
LPS16854>.

Miglietta, John P. American Alliance Policy in the Middle East, 1945-1992: Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Lanham, MD:
Lexington Books, 2002.

Naif, Al-Mutairi, and James J. Coyle. Saudi Governmental Structure and Foreign Policy. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical
Information Center, 1993. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA263866>.

Obaid, Nawaf E. Improving US Intelligence Analysis on the Saudi Arabian Decision Making Process. [Cambridge, MA.]:
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1998.

Patten, Joseph N. Foreign Policy Senators Versus Domestic Policy Senators and the Impact of a Resurgent Congress on US
Foreign Policy: Te Case of Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)West Virginia University, 1996.
159 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Piechot, Martin F. Who Were the Fifeen Saudis? Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2003.

Posner, Gerald L. Secrets of the Kingdom: Te Inside Story of the Saudi-US Connection. New York: Random House,
2005.

Prados, Alfred B. Saudi Arabia: Post-War Issues and US Relations. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center,
2001. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA476732>.

Prados, Alfred B. Saudi Arabia US Defense and Security Commitments. [Washington, DC]: Congressional Research
Service, Library of Congress, 1994.

Prados, Alfred B. Saudi Arabia US Defense and Security Commitments. [Washington, DC]: Congressional Research
Service, Library of Congress, 1994.

Prados, Alfred B. Saudi Arabia Post-War Issues and US Relations. [Washington, DC]: Congressional Research Service,
Library of Congress, 1994.

Prados, Alfred B, and Christopher M Blanchard. Saudi Arabia: Current Issues and US Relations. Ft. Belvoir: Defense
Technical Information Center, 2007. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA468060>.

Prados, Alred B.Saudi Arabia Commercial Disputes with US Firms. [Washington, DC]: Congressional Research Service,
Library of Congress, 1995.

Rawls, Lucia W. Saudi Arabia, Aramco and the American Political Process: Cause for Concern? American-Arab Af-
fairs, No. 18 (1986): 92-105.

Rubin, Barry M., and Samuel F. Wells. US options in Iran and Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. Strategic issues research memo-
randum. Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, 1983.

Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia and the United States Take Joint Action against Terror Financing. Washington, DC: Informa-
tion Oce, Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia], 2004.

Saudi Arabia. Program for the Visit of the Honorable Federico F. Pena, Secretary of Transportation, United States of Amer-
ica to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1-3 october, 1993. [Riyadh, Saudi Arabia]: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of
Communications, 1993.

Sharp, Jeremy Maxwell. Saudi Arabia Reform and US Policy. [Washington, DC]: Congressional Information Service,
Library of Congress, 2004.

160 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Simpson, William. Te Prince: Te Secret Story of the Worlds Most Intriguing Royal, Prince Bandar Bin Sultan. New York:
Regan Books, 2006.

Singh, A.K. Saudi-US relations: Te oil Factor. New Delhi: Classical Publishers, 2000.

Staudenmaier, William O. Denition of the Role of Saudi Arabia and Iran in US Policy: Te Military-Strategic Dimen-
sion. Strategic issues research memorandum. Carlisle Barracks, Penn: Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College,
1982.

Swope, Richard T., and Bryan G. Hawley. Khobar Report: Report of Investigation Concerning Te Khobar Towers Bomb-
ing, 25 June 1996. Washington, DC: Dept. of the Army, 1998.

Sylvester, Edward. Te US-Saudi Partnership: Is Tis Marriage Headed for Divorce? Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Infor-
mation Center, 2008. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA488810>.

Tollitz, Nino P. Saudi Arabia: Terrorism, US relations and oil. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2005.

Turki al-Faisal. Challenges in International Relations. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University, 2007.

Unger, Craig. House of Bush, House of Saud: Te Secret Relationship between the Worlds Two Most Powerful Dynasties.
New York: Scribner, 2004.

United States. Allegations of Improper Lobbying by Department of Defense Personnel of the C-5B and B-1B Aircraf and
Sale to Saudi Arabia of the Airborne Warning and Control System Report Together with Separate Views of the Investiga-
tions Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Ninety-Seventh Congress, Second Ses-
sion, December 30, 1982. Washington: US G.P.O., 1983.

United States. US relations With Saudi Arabia: oil, Anxiety, and Ambivalence, Serial No. 110-133, September 18, 2007,
110-1 Hearing, *. S.l: s.n, 2008.

United States. Proposed Sales to Saudi Arabia in Association with the Conduct of operation Desert Storm: Hearing Before
the Subcommittees on International Security and Science, and on Europe and Middle East of the Committee on Foreign
Afairs, House of representatives, one Hundred First Congress, Second Session. october 31, 1990. Washington: US G.P.O.,
1991.

United States. Proposed Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia: Hearing Before the Subcommittees on Arms Control, International
Security and Science, and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Aairs, House of Representatives,
one Hundredth Congress, Second Session, May 10, 1988. Washington: US G.P.O., 1988.

161 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
United States. Proposed Sales to Saudi Arabia in Association with the Conduct of operation Desert Storm: Hearing Be-
fore the Subcommittees on Arms Control, International Security, and Science and on Europe and the Middle East of the
Committee on Foreign Afairs, House of representatives, one Hundred First Congress, Second Session, october 31, 1990.
Washington: US G.P.O., 1991.

United States. Proposed Tank Sale to Saudi Arabia: Hearing Before the Subcommittees on Arms Control, International
Security, and Science, and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Aairs, House of Representatives,
one Hundred First Congress, First Session, November 7, 1989. Washington: US G.P.O., 1990.

United States. Proposed Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia Hearing Before the Subcommittees on Arms Control, International
Security, and Science, and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Aairs, House of Representatives,
one Hundredth Congress, Second Session, May 10, 1988. Washington [DC]: US G.P.O., 1988. <http://books.google.com/
books?id=BKjEInGiaVgC>.

United States. Proposed Sales and Upgrades of Major Defense Equipment to Saudi Arabia: Hearing Before the Subcom-
mittees on Arms Control, International Security, and Science, and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on
Foreign Afairs, House of representatives, one Hundred First Congress, Second Session, June 19, 1990. Washington: US
G.P.O., 1991.

United States. Proposed Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia: Hearing Before the Subcommittees on Arms Control, International
Security, and Science, and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Aairs, House of Representatives,
one Hundredth Congress, Second Session, May 10, 1988. Washington: US G.P.O., 1988.

United States. Proposed Sale of F-15 Aircraf to Saudi Arabia and US-Saudi Commercial Disputes: Joint Hearing Before
the Subcommittees on Arms Control, International Security, and Science, and Europe and the Middle East and Markup of
H. Con. res. 223 and H. res. 557 Before the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign
Afairs, House of representatives, one Hundred Second Congress, Second Session, September 23, 1992. Washington: US
G.P.O., 1993.

United States. Is Tere a Human rights Double Standard?: US Policy Toward Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Uzbekistan : Hearing
Before the Subcommittee on International organizations, Human rights, and oversight of the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs, House of representatives, one Hundred Tenth Congress, First Session, June 14, 2007. Washington: US G.P.O., 2007.

United States. Proposed Sale of Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) and F-15 Enhancements to Saudi Ara-
bia Hearings and Markup Before the Committee on Foreign Aairs and Its Subcommittees on International Security and
Scientic Aairs and on Europe and the Middle East, House of Representatives, Ninety-Seventh Congress, First Session,
on H. Con. res. 194, September 28, october 1, 6, and 7, 1981. Washington: US G.P.O., 1981. <http://books.google.com/
books?id=_fl7MZSwlsC>.

162 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
United States. Proposed US Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia: Hearing Before the Subcommittees on International Security
and Scientic Aairs and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Aairs, House of Representatives,
Ninety-Sixth Congress, First Session, December 12, 1979. Washington: US Govt. Print. O, 1980.

United States. Proposed Sale of Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) and F-15 Enhancements to Saudi Ara-
bia: Hearings and Markup Before the Committee on Foreign Aairs and Its Subcommittees on International Security and
Scientic Aairs and on Europe and the Middle East, House of Representatives, Ninety-Seventh Congress, First Session, on
H. Con. res. 194, September 28, october 1, 6, and 7, 1981. Washington: US G.P.O., 1981.

United States. US relations with Saudi Arabia: oil, Anxiety, and Ambivalence : Hearing Before the Subcommittee on the
Middle East and South Asia of the Committee on Foreign Afairs, House of representatives, one Hundred Tenth Congress,
First Session, September 18, 2007. Washington: US G.P.O., 2008.

United States. Te Future of US-Saudi Relations: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of
the Committee on International relations, House of representatives, one Hundred Seventh Congress, Second Session, May
22, 2002. Washington: US G.P.O., 2002.

United States. Terrorist Attack against United States Military Forces in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: Hearing Held, September
18, 1996. Washington: US G.P.O., 1997.

United States. Honoring the Victims of the June 25, 1996, Terrorist Bombing in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: report of the Com-
mittee on National Security, House of representatives on H. Con. res. 200 (Including Cost Estimate of the Congressional
Budget ofce). Washington: US G.P.O., 1996.

United States. Sales of Stinger Missiles to Saudi Arabia: Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropria-
tions, United States Senate, Ninety-Eighth Congress, Second Session : Special Hearing, Defense Security Assistance Agency,
Department of Defense, Department of State. Washington: US G.P.O., 1984.

United States. Bomb Attack in Saudi Arabia: Hearings Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, one
Hundred Fourth Congress, Second Session, July 9 and September 18, 1996. Washington: US G.P.O., 1997.

United States. Bomb Attack in Saudi Arabia Hearings Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, one
Hundred Fourth Congress, Second Session, July 9 and September 18, 1996. Washington: US G.P.O., 1997. <http://www.
archive.org/details/bombattackinsaud00unit>.

United States. Te Proposed AWACS/F-15 Enhancement Sale to Saudi Arabia: A Sta Report. Washington: US G.P.O.,
1981.

United States. Saudi Arabia Friend or Foe in the War on Terror? : Hearing Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United
163 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
States Senate, one Hundred Ninth Congress, First Session, November 8, 2005. Washington: US G.P.O., 2007. <http://purl.
access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS81025>.

United States. Saudi Arabia: Friend or Foe in the War on Terror? : Hearing Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United
States Senate, one Hundred Ninth Congress, First Session, November 8, 2005. Washington: US G.P.O., 2007.

United States. Assessing the regional Security in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia; Looking to the Future in Combating
Terrorism; Executive oversight: Hearing Before the Select Committee on Intelligence of the United States Senate, one Hun-
dred Fourth Congress, Second Session ... Wednesday, July 10, 1996. Washington: US G.P.O., 1997.

United States. Saudis House of Saud and Bin Laden Family Members Leaving US Afer 9/11/01. Washington, DC: Dept.
of Justice, FBI, 2005. <http://www.judicialwatch.org/archive/2005/saudiights.pdf>.

United States. Pricing Data on the Proposed Sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia. Washington, DC: GAO, 1981. <http://ar-
chive.gao.gov/f0102/117104.pdf>.
United States Institute of Peace, and Henry L. Stimson Center. Iraq, Its Neighbors, and the obama Administration Syrian
and Saudi Perspective : a Joint Report. Washington, DC: US Institute of Peace, 2009. <http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/
LPS110654>.

United States. Lessons Learned by the Saudi Arabian National Guard. FMFRP, 3-202. Washington, DC: Dept. of the Navy,
Headquarters, US Marine Corps, 1990.

Vendzules, Michael C. Putting the Ground Dimension into United States Air Force Doctrine: An Analysis of the Air Forces
New Concept to Accomplish the Force Protection Mission Following the Khobar Towers Terrorist Bombing. USAWC strat-
egy research project. Carlisle Barracks, PA: US Army War College, 1999.

Vitalis, Robert. Americas Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi oil Frontier. Stanford studies in Middle Eastern and Is-
lamic societies and cultures. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2007.

Wahby, Hisham M. Te US-Saudi Alliance: Te Question of Durability and Alliance Teory. Tesis (Ph. D.)George
Mason University, 2007.

Zonis, Marvin, and Hermann F. Eilts. Political Dimensions of US Relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. Stra-
tegic issues research memorandum. Carlisle Barracks, Pa: Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College, 1983.
SAUDI ForEIGN PoLICy

Aarts P., and Van Duijne J. Saudi Arabia Afer US-Iranian Detente: Lef in the Lurch? Middle East Policy. Vol 16. No.
164 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
3 (2009): 64-78.

Abidi, Aqil Hyder Hasan. Indo-Gulf Economic Relations: Pattern, Prospects, Policies. New Delhi: Intellectual Pub. House,
1989.

Ahmad, Naveed. Pakistan-Saudi Relations, Pakistan Horizon, Vol. 35. No. 4 (1982): 51-67.

Al-Busaid, Khalifa M. Te G.C.C. Security and the Arab order: relations in question. Tesis (M.A.)United States In-
ternational University, College of Arts and Sciences, San Diego Campus, 1995.

Al-Enazy, Askar H. Te Long road from Taif to Jeddah: resolution of a Saudi-yemeni Boundary Dispute. [Abu Dhabi]:
Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, 2005.

Al-Enazy, Askar Halwan. Current Developments Te International Boundary Treaty (Treaty of Jeddah) Concluded
Between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni Republic on June 12, 2000, Te American Journal of Interna-
tional Law. 96. 1 (2002): 161.

Al-Mani, Saleh A., and Salh al-Dn Shaykhl. Te Euro-Arab Dialogue: A Study in Associative Diplomacy. New York: St.
Martins Press, 1983.

Al-Orai, Mariam Mohammad. Saudi-Iranian Relations 1971-1991: An Analysis of the Dynamics from the Saudi Perspec-
tive. Tesis (Ph.D.)Australian National University, 2002.

Al-Saud, Fahad. Saudi Relations with Its Main Contiguous Neighbors. USAWC strategy research project. Carlisle Bar-
racks, PA: US Army War College, 2000.

Al-Wa, Khalid M. Saudi Arabia relations with China: opportunities and Challenges. Tesis (M.A.)University of
South Florida, 2000.

Al-Yassini, Ayman. Religion and Foreign Policy in Saudi Arabia. CDAS discussion papers, No. 2. Montreal, Qubec: Cen-
tre for Developing-Area Studies, McGill University], 1983.

Aliyya, Abdul-Fattah Hasan Abu, and Raq Shaker Al-Natsheh. Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Cause.
Reading: Ithaca, 2005.

Anthony, J. D. Saudi Arabian-Yemeni Relations: Implications for US Policy, Middle East Policy, Vol. 7, No. 2 (2000):
78-96.

Anthony, John Duke. Foreign Policy: Te View from Riyadh, Wilson Quarterly, No. 31 (1979): 73-82.
165 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Anthony, John Duke. Te GCC-Saudi Arabian-Yemeni Relations: Implications for US Policy, Middle East Policy, Vol.
7, No. 3 (2000): 78-96.

Badeeb, Saeed M. Saudi-Iranian relations, 1932-1982. London: Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies and Echoes, 1993.

Bin-Hethlain, Meshal Khaled. Saudi-Soviet Relations. Tesis (M.A.)California State University, Chico, 1991.

Black, Chris. Post oil America and a renewable Energy Policy Leads to the Abrogation of the Middle East to China. Tesis
(M.S. in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy)Joint Forces Sta College, Joint Advanced Warghting School, 2009.

Bradshaw, John Charles. Islamic Fundamentalism in Egypt and Saudi Arabia: An overview of Its resurgence and the Po-
tential Eects on US Foreign Policy. Report (M. Public Aairs)University of Texas at Austin, 1990.

Chubin, Shahram, and Charles Tripp. Iran-Saudi Arabia relations and regional order: Iran and Saudi Arabia in the Bal-
ance of Power in the Gulf. Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press for the International Institute for Strategic Studies,
1996.

Cordesman, Anthony H. Western Strategic Interests in Saudi Arabia. London: Croom Helm, 1987.

Deleh, Shahla. Te Iranian Revolution and Its Impact on Iran-Saudi Arabian Relations 1978-1982. New Delhi: Centre
for West Asian and African Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharla Nehru University, 1984.

Dietl, G. Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Bomb, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 31, No. 4 (2008):
48-69.

Dietl, Gulshan. Foreign Policy of Saudi Arabia: Internal and External Contexts, India Quarterly, Vol. 41, Nos. 3-44
(1985): 363-375.

Elmadani, Abdulla. Indo-Saudi relations 1947-1997: Domestic Concerns and Foreign relations. Exeter: University of
Exeter, 2003.

Erlikh, Hagai. Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia: Islam, Christianity, and Politics Entwined. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Pub-
lishers, 2007.

Fuller, G. E. Te Saudi Peace Plan: How Serious? Middle East Policy, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2002): 27-30.

Frtig, Henner. Irans Rivalry with Saudi Arabia between the Gulf Wars. Reading, UK: Ithaca Press, 2002.

Gause, F. Gregory. Saudi-Yemeni Relations: Domestic Structures and Foreign Inuence. New York: Columbia University
166 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Press, 1990.

Hashem, Ahmad. Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf GCC. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information
Center, 2007. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA469099>.

Haskins, Mark S. Iran and the Arabian Gulf: Treat Assessment and response / #C by Mark S. Haskins. Maxwell AFB,
Alabama: Air Command and Sta College, Air University, 1998.

Israel. Large sums of money transferred by Saudi Arabia to the Palestinians are used for fnancing terror organizations
(particularly the Hamas) and terrorist activities (including suicide attacks inside Israel). Israel: s.n., 2002.

Katz Mark N. Saudi-Russian Relations Since the Abdullah-Putin Summit, Middle East Policy, Vol. 16, No. 1 (2009):
113-120.

Katz, Mark N. Russia & Arabia: Soviet Foreign Policy Toward the Arabian Peninsula. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity Press, 1986.

Katz, Mark N. Saudi-Russian Relations Since 9/11, Problems of Post-Communism, Vol. 51, No. 2 (2004): 3-11.

Khalid, Zulkar A. Antagonistic Alignments on the Arabian Sea Littoral: A Saudi Dilemma, Pakistan Horizon, No. 354
(1982): 45-50.

Khalidi, Walid. Te Prospects of Peace in the Middle East, Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 32, No. 2 (2003): 50-62.
Korany, Baghat and Moataz A. Fattah. Irreconcilable Role-Partners? Saudi Foreign Policy between the Ulama and the
US, In Te Foreign Policies of Arab States: Te challenges of Globalization. New Revised Edition. Baghat Korany and Ali
E. Hillal Dessouki, Eds. Cairo American University Cairo Press, 2008: 343-396.

Lapointe, Sylvie. Te Foreign Policy of Libya and Saudi Arabia: revolutionary Islam Vs. Traditional Islam. Auburn, AL:
[s.n.], 1981.

Lieberman, Andrea L. Attributions in Saudi Arabia and Israel: Te Presence of the Correspondence Bias and the Eects of
Suspicion. Tesis (B.A.)Williams College, Dept. of Psychology, 1997.

Ma, Kainan Yusuf. Foreign Relations between the Republic of China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Te Process of Es-
tablishing and Sustaining relationships (1936-1986). Ann Arbor, MI: U.M.I., 1988.

Macalintal, Romeo R. Two Independent Pillars of Policy Te Saudi and American Approaches to Iran. Tesis (M.S. in Joint
Campaign Planning and Strategy)Joint Forces Sta College, Joint Advanced Warghting School, 2008.
167 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Markaz al-Imrt lil-Dirst wa-al-Buhth al-Istirtjyah. France and the Arabian Gulf. London: I.B. Tauris, 2008.

Marschall, Christin. Te Islamic republic of Iran and the Persian Gulf States: Iranian regional Foreign Policy, 1979-1994.
Tesis (Ph. D.)Harvard University, 1997.

McLean, Charles A, II. End of the Islamic Cold War: Te Saudi-Iranian Detente and Its Implications. Ft. Belvoir: Defense
Technical Information Center, 2001. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA397595>.

McMillan, Joseph. Saudi Arabia and Iraq oil, religion, and an Enduring rivalry. Washington, DC: US Institute of Peace,
2006. <http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS67573>.

Miglietta, John P. American Alliance Policy in the Middle East, 1945-1992: Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Lanham, MD:
Lexington Books, 2002.

Naif, Al-Mutairi, and James J. Coyle. Saudi Governmental Structure and Foreign Policy. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical
Information Center, 1993. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA263866>.

Nonneman, Gerd. Saudi-European Relations 1902-2001: a Pragmatic Quest for Relative Autonomy, International Af-
fairs, Vol. 77, No. 3 (2001): 631-661.

Okruhlik, Gwenn, and Patrick Conge. National Autonomy, Labor Migration and Political Crisis: Yemen and Saudi
Arabia, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 51, No. 4 (1997): 554-565.

Otto, Jan Michiel. Sharia and National Law in Muslim Countries Tensions and opportunities for Dutch and EU Foreign
Policy. [Leiden]: Leiden University Press, 2008.

Pant, H. V. Saudi Arabia Woos China and India: Riyadhs Approach to the East Wont Save It from Tough Choices on
Internal Reform, Middle East Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. 4 (2006): 45-52.

Rashid, Nasser Ibrahim, and Esber I. Shaheen. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf War. Joplin, MO: International Institute of
Technology, 1992.

Razvi, Mujtaba. Te Fahd Peace Plan, Pakistan Horizon, No. 344 (1981): 48-61.

Rudolph, Rachael M. Identity, Foreign Policy, and the War on Terrorism in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.A.) American
University, 2006.

Saito, Henry T. Chinas Expansion into the Middle East and Its Eects on US Foreign Policy. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical
Information Center, 2007. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA467115>.
168 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu

Sajedi, Amir. Irans Relations with Saudi Arabia, India Quarterly, No. 2 (1993): 75-96.

Saudi Arabia. Identical Letters Dated 99/03/18 from the Charg DAfaires a.I. of the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia
to the United Nations Addressed to the Secretary-General and to the President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN,
1999.
. Note Verbale Dated 98/04/29 from the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the
Secretariat. [New York]: UN, 1998.

. Note Verbale Dated 91/08/01 from the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed
to the Secretary-General. [New York]: UN, 1991.

. Letter Dated 91/07/02 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the
Secretary-General. [New York]: UN, 1991.

. Identical Letters Dated 2001/05/21 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Ad-
dressed to the Secretary-General and to the President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 2001.

. Letter Dated 91/01/16 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the
President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1991.

. Letter Dated 2003/05/19 from the Permanent representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Na-
tions Addressed to the Chairman of the Committee. [New York]: UN, 2003.

. Letter Dated 89/04/11 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the
President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1989.

. Letter Dated 91/09/24 from the Charg Dafaires a.I. of the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the United
Nations Addressed to the Secretary-General. [New York]: UN, 1991.

. Letter Dated 98/03/05 from the Acting Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Ad-
dressed to the President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1998.

. Identical Letters Dated 99/03/01 from the Charg Dafaires a.I. of the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the
United Nations Addressed to the Secretary-General and to the President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1999.

. Letter Dated 91/02/20 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the
President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1991.

169 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
. Note Verbale Dated 98/03/16 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed
to the Chairman of the Committee. [New York]: UN, 1998.

. Note Verbale Dated 92/06/23 from the Charg Dafaires a.I. of the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the
United Nations Addressed to the Secretary-General. [New York]: UN, 1992.

. Letter Dated 90/08/22 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the
Secretary-General. [New York]: UN, 1990. <http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=S/21596&Lang=E>.

. Letter Dated 2002/01/15 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to
the Secretary-General. [New York]: UN, 2001.

. Letter Dated 93/04/04 from the Acting Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Ad-
dressed to the President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1993.

. Letter Dated 90/03/23 from the Charg Dafaires a.I. of the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the United
Nations Addressed to the President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1990.

. Letter Dated 91/03/14 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the
President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1991.

. Letter Dated 97/12/16 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the
President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1997.

. Letter Dated 91/01/30 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the
President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1991.

. Letter Dated 92/08/11 from the Charg Dafaires a.I. of the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the United
Nations Addressed to the President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1992. <http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/
Get?Open&DS=S/24415&Lang=A>.
.
. a. Letter Dated 96/09/26 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to
the President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1996.

. Letter Dated 93/02/25 from the Acting from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations
Addressed to the President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1993.

. Letter Dated 91/01/13 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the
Secretary-General. [New York]: UN, 1991.
170 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
. Letter Dated 2005/07/08 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to
the President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 2005.

. Letter Dated 91/02/21 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the
President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1991.
. Letter Dated 99/01/04 from the Charg Dafaires a.I. of the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the United
Nations Addressed to the President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1999.

. Note Verbale Dated 2004/11/01 from the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to
the Chairman of the Committee. [New York]: UN, 2004.

. Letter Dated 91/03/28 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the
President of the Security Council. [New York]: UN, 1991.

Saudi Arabia, and Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. Ministerial Council (18th special sess. Ri-
yadh). Letter Dated 94/10/14 from the Charg Dafaires a.I. of the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the Unit-
ed Nations Addressed to the Secretary-General. [New York]: UN, 1994. <http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/
Get?Open&DS=A/49/523&Lang=A>.

Saudi Arabia, and Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. Ministerial Council (50th sess. Riyadh). Letter
Dated 94/04/13 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the Secretary-
General. [New York]: UN, 1994.

Saudi Arabia, and Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. Supreme Council (20th sess. Riyadh). Letter
Dated 99/12/02 from the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the Secretary-
General. [New York]: UN, 1999.

Saudi Arabia, and Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. Supreme Council (8th sess. Riyadh). Letter Dated
88/02/03 from the Permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the Secretary-General.
[New York]: UN, 1988.

Saudi Arabia, and Organization of the Islamic Conference. Letter Dated 76/03/12 from the Representative of Saudi
Arabia to the Secretary-General, Security Council ofcial records, 31st year. Supplement for January, February and
March 1976-1977 (1977): 123-124.

Saudi Arabia, and UN. Group of Arab States. Chairman. Identical Letters Dated 98/05/15 from the Permanent repre-
sentative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the Secretary-General and to the President of the Security
Council. [New Yorl]: UN, 1998. <http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/52/906&Lang=A>.
171 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Saudi Arabia, and UN. Group of Islamic Countries at the United Nations. Chairman. Letter Dated 90/05/23 from the
Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the President of the Security Council. Ge-
neva: UN, 1990.

Saudi Arabia, and UN. Group of Islamic Countries at the United Nations. Chairman. Letter Dated 89/06/05 from the Per-
manent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Addressed to the Secretary-General. New York: UN, 1989.

Saudi Arabia, and UN. Security Council Committee Established pursuant to Resolution 1373 (2001) concerning Coun-
ter-Terrorism. Chairman. Letter Dated 2003/05/29 from the Chairman of the Security Council Committee Established
Pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) Concerning Counter-Terrorism Addressed to the President of the Security Council.
[New York]: UN, 2003.

Sawyer, Herbert L. Soviet Perceptions of Saudi Arabia and Iran January-June, 1983. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Russian Research Center, 1985.

Shichor, Yitzhak. East Wind over Arabia: origins and Implications of the Sino-Saudi Missile Deal. Berkeley, Calif: Insti-
tute of East Asian Studies [and] Center for Chinese Studies, University of California, 1989.

Smith, William T. Saudi Arabia and Regional Issues. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 1993. <http://
handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA283135>.

Sunayama, Sonoko. Syria and Saudi Arabia: Collaboration and Conficts in the oil Era. London: Tauris Academic Stud-
ies, 2007.

Tahir-Kheli, Shirin, and William O. Staudenmaier. Te Saudi-Pakistani Military Relationship: Implications for US Pol-
icy, orbis, No. 261 (1982): 155-169.

Tarock, A. Shahram Chubin and Charles Tripp, Iran-Saudi Arabia Relations and Regional Order, Iranian Journal of
International Aairs, Vol. 9, No. 1 (1997): 118-126.

Teitelbaum, Joshua. Te Arab Peace Initiative A Primer and Future Prospects. Jerusalem: Jerusalem Center for Public Af-
fairs, 2009. <http://www.jcpa.org/text/Arab-Peace-Initiative.pdf>.

Turki al-Faisal. Challenges in International Relations. Manhattan, Kan: Kansas State University, 2007.

United States Institute of Peace, and Henry L. Stimson Center. Iraq, Its Neighbors, and the obama Administration Syrian
and Saudi Perspectives : a Joint Report. Washington, DC: US Institute of Peace, 2009. <http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/
LPS110654>.

172 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Wehrey, Frederic, Teodore W. Karasik, Alireza Nader, Jeremy Ghez, Lydia Hansell, and Robert A. Guey. Saudi-Iranian
relations Since the Fall of Saddam. rivalry, Cooperation, and Implications for US Policy. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical
Information Center, 2009.

Wehrey, Frederic M. Saudi-Iranian Relations Since the Fall of Saddam: Rivalry, Cooperation, and Implications for US
Policy. Santa Monica, Calif: Rand, 2009.

Whelan, John. Japan and the Middle East. London: Middle East Economic Digest, 1981.

Wien, Jake. Saudi-Egyptian Relations Te Political and Military Dimensions of Saudi Financial Flows to Egypt. Santa
Monica, CA: Rand Corp, 1980.

SAUDI MILITAry AND SECUrITy

Al Harbi, Bandar O. Nahil. Saudi Arabia National Guard (SANG) An Individual Study Project. USAWC military studies
program paper. Carlisle Barracks, PA: US Army War College, 1991.

Al Kindi, Abdullah. Arabian Gulf Security. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 2003. <http://handle.dtic.
mil/100.2/ADA413490>.

Al-Ayed, Ibrahim. Saudi National Security. USAWC strategy research project. Carlisle Barracks, PA: US Army War Col-
lege, 1996.

Al-Ayed, Ibrahim. Saudi National Security. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 1996. <http://handle.dtic.
mil/100.2/ADA309777>.

Al-Mani, Saleh. Of Security and Treat: Saudi Arabias Perception, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies,
Vol. 20, No. 1 (1996): 74-87.

Al-Mutrif, I. A. Perceptions of Arabian Gulf Security, Asian Prole, Vol. 26, No. 4 (1998): 323-338.

Al-Saud, Bandar Salman Mohammed. Te G.C.C. Security Convention: A Legal and Practical Analysis : Submitted to
the University of Glasgow As a Tesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Law and Financial Studies.
Tesis (Ph. D.)University of Glasgow, 1997.

Alshehri, Saad. Security of the Arabian Gulf. USAWC strategy research project. Carlisle Barracks, PA: US Army War
College, 2002.

Alzahrani, Fahad. Expanding the Role of Saudi Arabian National Guard in the War on Terrorism: A Strategic Vision. Ft.
173 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 2004.

Atkeson, Edward B. A Military Assessment of the Middle East, 1991-96. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Cen-
ter, 1992. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA260189>.

Bahgat, Gawdat. Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in the Middle East. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2007.

Barrett, Roby Carol. Te Arabian Gulf and Security Policy: Te Past As Present, the Present As Future. Hurlbert Field, Fla:
JSOU Press, 2009.

Bents, Eric R. Te Sale of US Military Aircraf to Saudi Arabia. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 1995.
<http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA294714>.

Bin Ahmed Al-Saud, Naef. Underpinning Saudi National Security Strategy. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information
Center, 2002. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA483704>.

Butler,Gordon M , Jr. Te US Army Corps of Engineers: Te Saudi Arabian Experience and Implications for US Foreign
Policy. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 1986.

Castaneda, Laura W, Lawrence M Hanser, and Constance H Davis. Te Role of Deployments in Competency Develop-
ment: Experience from Prince Sultan Air Base and Eskan Village in Saudia Arabia. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Infor-
mation Center, 2004. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA440176>.

Cohen, William S. Personal Accountability for Force Protection at Khobar Towers. Washington, DC: Dept. of Defense],
1997.

Cordesman, Anthony H. Saudi Arabia: National Security in a Troubled Region. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Security
International, 2009.

Cordesman, Anthony H. Saudi Arabia: Guarding the Desert Kingdom. CSIS Middle East dynamic net assessment. Boul-
der, CO: Westview Press, 1997.

Cordesman, Anthony H. Saudi National Security and the Saudi-US Strategic Partnership. Washington, DC: Center for
Strategic & International Studies, 2008. <http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/081203_saudibrief.pdf>.

Cordesman, Anthony H., and Nawaf E. Obaid. National Security in Saudi Arabia: Treats, Responses, and Challenges.
Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2005.

Cordesman, Anthony H., and Khalid R. Al-Rodhan. Te Gulf Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric War Saudi
174 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Arabia. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2006. <http://www.csis.org/media/csis/
pubs/060728%5Fgulf%5Fsaudi.pdf>.

Creamer, Robert L., and James C. Seat. Khobar Towers: Te Afermath and Implications for Commanders. Maxwell Air
Force Base, Ala: Air War College, Air University, 1998.

Dahy, Talal M. Te Military organization As an Agent for Modernization in Tird World Countries: Case Study: National
Guard in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)Florida State University, 1988, 1988.

Deegan,William F , Jr. Saudi AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System): American Foreign Policy in Confict. Ft.
Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 1986.

Dowling, Kevin S. American Middle East Policy: Increasing the Treat to US Forces in Saudi Arabia? Ft. Belvoir: Defense
Technical Information Center, 2001. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA401343>.

Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. Te Gulf: Future Security and British Policy ; a Post-Conference
Publication. Reading: Ithaca, 2000.

Faksh, Mahmud A., and Ramzi F. Faris. Te Saudi Conundrum: Squaring the Security-Stability Circle, Tird World
Quarterly, No. 142 (1993): 277-293.

Farid, Abdel Majid. oil and Security in the Arabian Gulf. New York: St. Martins Press, 1981.

Fletcher de Castro, Samuel. Naval Coalition Building with the GCC States. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information
Center, 2002. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA459812>.

Frushon, Frank J. GCC Military Alliance: An Impossible Quest. Tesis (M.A.I.S.)University of Washington, 1997.

Gilbert III, S T. Reagan and the AWACS Sale to Saudi Arabia - Bureaucratic Politics in Action. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Techni-
cal Information Center, 1996. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA441382>.

Goldberg, Jacob. Te Saudi Military Buildup: Strategy and Risks, Middle East Review, No. 213 (1989): 3-13.

Goodwin, Bonita A. Te United States, Saudi Arabia, and Arms: Prospects for Future Instability in the Alliance. Ft. Belvoir:
Defense Technical Information Center, 1993. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA277977>.

Hameed, Mazher A. Saudi Arabia, the West, and the Security of the Gulf. London: Croom Helm, 1986.

Hashem, Ahmad. Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf GCC. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information
175 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Center, 2007. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA469099>.

Hassig, Kongdan, and Caroline F Ziemke. Far East and Middle East: An Investigation of Strategic Linkages. Ft. Belvoir:
Defense Technical Information Center, 2002. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA410724>.

Inbody, D S. Saudi Arabia and the United States: Perceptions and Gulf Security. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Informa-
tion Center, 1984.

Jamieson, Perry D. Khobar Towers: Tragedy and Response. Washington, DC: Air Force History and Museums Program,
2008.

Janes Information Group. Janes Sentinel Security Assessment: the Gulf States. Coulsdon, UK: Janes Information Group,
2002.

Jasper, Marc W. Security Assistance in the Persian Gulf and the Roots of the Nixon Doctrine. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical
Information Center, 1997. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA342539>.

Katz, Mark. What Do We Do If the Saudi Monarchy Falls? Comparative Strategy, Vol. 22, No. 1 (2003): 45-58.

Katzman, Kenneth. Te Persian Gulf States: Issues for US Policy, 2006. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center,
2006. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA476138>.

Kchichian, Joseph A. Trends in Saudi National Security, Te Middle East Journal, Vol. 53, No. 2 (1999): 232-253.

. Testing the Saudi Will to Power: Challenges Confronting Prince Abdallah, Middle East Policy, Vol. 10, No. 4
(2003): 100-115.

. Political Dynamics and Security in the Arabian Peninsula Trough the 1990s. Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1993.
<http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/2006/MR167.pdf>.

Khaled ibn Sultan, and Patrick Seale. Desert Warrior: A Personal View of the Gulf War by the Joint Forces Commander.
New York, NY: HarperPerennial, 1996.

King, Craig K. Impact of a regime Change in Saudi Arabia An operational Perspective. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical
Information Center, 1998. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA367232>.

Markaz al-Imrt lil-Dirst wa-al-Buhth al-Istirtjyah. Arabian Gulf Security: Internal and External Challenges. Abu
Dhabi: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, 2008.

176 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Mylroie, Laurie Ann. Regional Security Afer Empire: Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. Tesis (Ph. D.)Harvard University,
1985.

Nyang, Sulayman S., and Evan Hendricks. A Line in the Sand: Saudi Arabias role in the Gulf War. [Washington, DC]:
P.T. Books, 1995.

Parry, Audrey. Te Importance of Saudi Arabias Security to the West. London: Foreign Aairs Research Institute, 1980.

Peterson, John. Defense and regional Security in the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf States, 1973-2004: An Annotated Bibli-
ography. Dubai: Gulf Research Center, 2006.

Pollack, Kenneth M. Saudi Military Eectiveness in the 1990s. Washington, DC: Washington Institute for Near East
Policy, 1999.

Prados, Alfred B. Saudi Arabia: Post-War Issues and US Relations. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center,
2001. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA476732>.

Prados, Alfred B. Saudi Arabia US Defense and Security Commitments. [Washington, DC]: Congressional Research
Service, Library of Congress, 1994.

Rashid, Nasser Ibrahim, and Esber I. Shaheen. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf War. Joplin, MO: International Institute of
Technology, 1992.

Reese, John N., and Joseph P. Englehardt. Toward Collective Security in the Gulf: An Evolving United States Role in Sup-
port of the GCC States. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 1991.

Renfro, Robert S , II. Forecasting and Explanatory Models for Middle Eastern Defense Budgets: A Case Study of Saudi
Arabia. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center, 1996. <http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA325155>.

Schaill, Emmett M. Does the 2006 quadrennial Defense review Support Americas Ability to Ensure Access to Saudi Ara-
bian oil? USAWC strategy research project. Carlisle Barracks, PA: US Army War College, 2006.

Sick, Gary G., and Lawrence G. Potter. Security in the Persian Gulf: origins, obstacles and the Search for Consensus. New
York: Palgrave, 2001.

St. Marie, Joseph J. Saudi Arabian Security Perspectives: Te Defense of the Kingdom in the Wake of the Gulf War. Tesis
(M.A.)University of Idaho, 1991, 1991.

Starr, Jerey M. Te Prospects for Defense Cooperation in the Persian Gulf: Saudi Arabias Continuing Search for Security.
177 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Cambridge, MA: Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1984.

Starr, Jerey Michael. Te Prospects for Defense Cooperation in the Persian Gulf: Saudi Arabias Continuing Search for
Security. Tesis (M.S.)Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 1984.

Staudenmaier, William O., and Shirin Tahir-Kheli. Te Saudi-Pakistani Military Relationship and Its Implications for US
Strategy in Southwest Asia Special Report. Carlisle Barracks, Pa: US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, 1981.

Swope, Richard T., and Bryan G. Hawley. Khobar Report: Report of Investigation Concerning Te Khobar Towers Bomb-
ing, 25 June 1996. Washington, DC: Dept. of the Army, 1998.

Twinam, Joseph W. Saudi Arabia and US Security Policy: September 25, 1981. Washington, DC: US Dept. of State, Bureau
of Public Aairs, Oce of Public Communication, Editorial Division, 1981.

United States. Proposed Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia: Hearing Before the Subcommittees on Arms Control, International
Security and Science, and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Aairs, House of Representatives,
one Hundredth Congress, Second Session, May 10, 1988. Washington: USGPO, 1988.

. Proposed Sales to Saudi Arabia in Association with the Conduct of operation Desert Storm: Hearing Before the
Subcommittees on Arms Control, International Security, and Science and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee
on Foreign Afairs, House of representatives, one Hundred First Congress, Second Session, october 31, 1990. Washington:
US G.P.O., 1991.
. Proposed Tank Sale to Saudi Arabia: Hearing Before the Subcommittees on Arms Control, International Security,
and Science, and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Afairs, House of representatives, one Hun-
dred First Congress, First Session, November 7, 1989. Washington: US G.P.O., 1990.

. Proposed Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia Hearing Before the Subcommittees on Arms Control, International Se-
curity, and Science, and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Aairs, House of Representatives,
one Hundredth Congress, Second Session, May 10, 1988. Washington [DC]: US G.P.O., 1988. <http://books.google.com/
books?id=BKjEInGiaVgC>.

. Proposed Sales and Upgrades of Major Defense Equipment to Saudi Arabia: Hearing Before the Subcommittees on
Arms Control, International Security, and Science, and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Aairs,
House of representatives, one Hundred First Congress, Second Session, June 19, 1990. Washington: US G.P.O., 1991.

. Proposed Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia: Hearing Before the Subcommittees on Arms Control, International Security,
and Science, and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Afairs, House of representatives, one Hun-
dredth Congress, Second Session, May 10, 1988. Washington: US G.P.O., 1988.
178 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
. Proposed Sale of F-15 Aircraf to Saudi Arabia and US-Saudi Commercial Disputes: Joint Hearing Before the
Subcommittees on Arms Control, International Security, and Science, and Europe and the Middle East and Markup of
H. Con. res. 223 and H. res. 557 Before the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign
Afairs, House of representatives, one Hundred Second Congress, Second Session, September 23, 1992. Washington: US
G.P.O., 1993.

. Proposed Sale of Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) and F-15 Enhancements to Saudi Arabia
Hearings and Markup Before the Committee on Foreign Aairs and Its Subcommittees on International Security and
Scientic Aairs and on Europe and the Middle East, House of Representatives, Ninety-Seventh Congress, First Session,
on H. Con. res. 194, September 28, october 1, 6, and 7, 1981. Washington: US G.P.O., 1981. <http://books.google.com/
books?id=_fl7MZSwlsC>.

. Proposed US Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia: Hearing Before the Subcommittees on International Security and Sci-
entic Aairs and on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Aairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-
Sixth Congress, First Session, December 12, 1979. Washington: US Govt. Print. O, 1980.

. Proposed Sale of Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) and F-15 Enhancements to Saudi Arabia:
Hearings and Markup Before the Committee on Foreign Aairs and Its Subcommittees on International Security and Sci-
entifc Afairs and on Europe and the Middle East, House of representatives, Ninety-Seventh Congress, First Session, on H.
Con. res. 194, September 28, october 1, 6, and 7, 1981. Washington: US G.P.O., 1981.

. Terrorist Attack against United States Military Forces in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: Hearing Held, September 18,
1996. Washington: US G.P.O., 1997.

. Sales of Stinger Missiles to Saudi Arabia: Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
United States Senate, Ninety-Eighth Congress, Second Session : Special Hearing, Defense Security Assistance Agency, De-
partment of Defense, Department of State. Washington: US G.P.O., 1984.

. Te Proposed AWACS/F-15 Enhancement Sale to Saudi Arabia: A Sta Report. Washington: US G.P.O., 1981.

. Assessing the regional Security in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia; Looking to the Future in Combatting Ter-
rorism; Executive oversight: Hearing Before the Select Committee on Intelligence of the United States Senate, one Hundred
Fourth Congress, Second Session ... Wednesday, July 10, 1996. Washington: US G.P.O., 1997.

. Sale of Abrams Tanks to Saudi Arabia. [Washington, DC]: US Dept. of State, US Dept. of Defense, 1989.

. Pricing Data on the Proposed Sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia. Washington, DC: GAO, 1981. <http://archive.gao.
gov/f0102/117104.pdf>.

179 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
. Lessons Learned by the Saudi Arabian National Guard. FMFRP, 3-202. Washington, DC: Dept. of the Navy,
Headquarters, US Marine Corps, 1990.
SAUDI oIL AND ENErGy ISSUES
International Business Publications, USA. Saudi Arabia Energy Policy, Laws and regulations Handbook. Intl Business
Pubns USA, 2007.

International Business Publications, USA. Saudi Arabia oil and Gas Exploration Laws and regulation Handbook. Intl
Business Pubns USA, 2008.

Abir, Mordechai. Saudi Arabia in the oil Era: regime and Elites: Confict and Collaboration. London: Croom Helm,
1988.

Al Abdulwahab, Sami. How Dependent Is Saudi Arabia on oil? Research paper (M.S.)Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, 2003.

Al-Henaki, Saleh Abdullah. oil Price Shocks and the Public Sector in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.A.)University of Colo-
rado, 1998.

Al-Mabrouk, Saud A. Dutch Disease in a Small open Economy: Te Case of oil in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)
Colorado State University, 1991.

Al-moadhadi, Majd. oil: Challenges and opportunities in the Gulf: Global Geo-Strategic Issues and Local Governance.
Tesis (M.A.)Webster University, Geneva, 2007.

Al-Otaibi, Naif O. An Investigation of the relationship Among oil revenues, Money Supply, and the Price Level in Saudi
Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)American University, 2001.

Al-Qahtani, Mohammad F. Essays on the Impediments to Income Diversifcation and De-Industrialization in the oil-
Exporting Economy of Saudi Arabia. Tesis (Ph. D.)Indiana University, , 2002.

Al-Saleh Y. Renewable Energy Scenarios for Major Oil-Producing Nations: Te Case of Saudi Arabia, Futures, Vol. 41,
No. 9 (2009): 650-662.

Al-Samaan, Yahya Abdulla. Te Evolution of Contractual Relationship between the Government of Saudi Arabia and
Aramco. Scotland: Centre for Petroleum and Mineral Law Studies, University of Dundee, 1990.

Al-Yousuf, Alaa. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia: From Prosperity to Retrenchment. OIES papers on oil and nance, F7. [Ox-
180 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
ford]: Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, 1990.

Algaeed, Abdulazeez. oil Windfalls, the Dutch Disease, and the Saudi Arabian Experience: 1970-1987. Tesis (Ph. D.)
University of Missouri-Columbia, 1991.

Alkhelaiwi, Khalid S. Te Impact of oil revenue Fluctuations on the Saudi Arabian Economy. Univ. Diss.Durham,
2001.

Askari, Hossein, and Babak Dastmaltschi. Saudi Arabias Economy: oil and the Search for Economic Development. Con-
temporary studies in economic and nancial analysis, Vol. 67. Greenwich, CT: Jai Press, 1990.

Ba-Sulouh, Mubarak S. Alternative Sources of Energy for Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.S.)University of Colorado at Boul-
der, 1981.

Bahgat, Gawdat. Te New Geopolitics of Oil: Te United States, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, orbis, Vol. 47, No. 3 (2003):
447-461.

Bizri, Omar. Solar Energy Technology Transfer in the ESCWA Member Countries. [Beirut]: UN, 2000.

Campbell, Andrew G. Understanding and Infuencing Saudi Arabian oil Policy. Policy analysis exercise. Cambridge, MA:
John F. Kennedy School of Government, 2005.

Choudhury, Masudul Alam. Oil and Water Do Mix: Te Case of Saudi Arabia, Journal of Developing Areas, Vol. 37, No.
2 (2004): 169-179.

Clark, Arthur P., Muhammad A. Tahlawi, and William Facey. A Land Transformed: Te Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia
and Saudi Aramco. Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: Te Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), 2006.

Conant, Melvin, and Elena Turner. Saudi oil Policy, 1987-2000. Washington, DC: Conant, 1988.

Conant, Melvin A. oil Prices and the Saudi-US Connection. Washington, DC: Conant, 1991.

Cordesman, Anthony H. Saudi Arabia Enters the Twenty-First Century / Te Political, Foreign Policy, Economic and En-
ergy Dimensions. [1]. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003.

Domitra, Michael. Saudi-Arabia: World Energy and International Finance. Analysen aus der Abteilung
Entwicklungslnderforschung, nr. 109/110. Bonn: Forschungsinstitut der Friedrich-Ebert-Stifung, 1983.

El Mallakh, Dorothea H., and Ragaei El Mallakh. Saudi Arabia: energy, developmental planning, and industrialization.
181 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Te International Research Center for Energy and Economic Development, 1980. Lexington, MA [u.a.]: Lexington
Books, 1982.

Enav, Peter. Te Saudi oil Dilemma. London: Financial Times Energy, 2000.

Frayn, Nicholas. Saudi oil Policy, 1970-1990: A State-Society Approach. Tesis (M. Phil.)University of Oxford, 2003.

Golub, David B. When oil and Politics Mix Saudi oil Policy, 1973-85. Harvard Middle East papers, No. 4. Cambridge, MA: Cen-
ter for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, 1985. <http://books.google.com/books?id=8E41AAAAMAAJ>.

Great Britain. Saudi Arabia: oil and Gas Industry and Saudi Aramco. London: British Overseas Trade Board, 1990.

Hashim, Wahid Hamza. Energy Policy in Saudi Arabia. Tesis (M.A.)University of Colorado, 1980, 1980.

Hertog, Steen. Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats: oil and the State in Saudi Arabia. Ithaca: Cornell University Press,
2010.

International Conference on Saudi Arabia : Energy, Developmental Planning, and Industrialization (1980: Boulder,
CO), Ragaei El-Mallakh, and Dorothea H. El-Mallakh. Saudi Arabia, Energy, Development Planning, and Industrializa-
tion. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1982.

Ismail, Eman Hassan. Saudi Arabian Economy and the Dutch Disease: A recent Look at a Samll open Economy. Tesis
(M.A.)California State University, Fullerton, 2005.

Libecap, Gary D., and James L. Smith. Political Constraints on Government Cartelization: Te Case of oil Production
Regulation in Texas and Saudi Arabia. Torino: International Centre for Economic Research, 2001.

Long, David E. Saudi Oil Policy, Wilson Quarterly, No. 31 (1979): 83-91.

Lynch, Michael C., and Morris Albert Adelman. Crop Circles in the Desert: Te Strange Controversy over Saudi oil Pro-
duction. Boulder, CO: ICEED, 2006.

Mehrara, Mohsen. Energy-GDP Relationship for Oil-Exporting Countries: Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, oPEC re-
view, Vol. 31, No. 1 (2007): 1-16.

Nersesian, Roy L. Energy for the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Guide to Conventional and Alternative Sources. Armonk,
NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2007.

Obaid, Nawaf E. Te oil Kingdom at 100: Petroleum Policymaking in Saudi Arabia. Washington, DC: Washington Insti-
tute for Near-East Policy, 2000.
182 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Quandt, William B. Saudi Arabias oil Policy A Staf Paper. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 1982. <http://books.
google.com/books?id=9bsPAAAAMAAJ>.

Rabie, Mohamed. Te Oil Market in the 1980s and the Role of Saudi Arabia, American-Arab Aairs, No. 3 (1983):
94-102.

Rawls, Lucia W. Saudi Arabia, Aramco and the American Political Process: Cause for Concern? American-Arab Af-
fairs, No. 18 (1986): 92-105.

Saudi Arabia. Resources of Energy in Saudi Arabia: Petroleum & Minerals. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia?: Ministry of Culture &
Information, 2005.

Singh, A. K. Saudi-US relations: Te oil Factor. New Delhi: Classical Publishers, 2000.

Stanley Foundation. US Challenges and Choices in the Gulf Energy Security. Policy brief, #3. Muscatine, Iowa: Stanley
Foundation, 2002. <http://reports.stanleyfoundation.org/EFCgulfc02.pdf>.

Stewart, Dorathy A., Helmut P. Dudel, and Larry J. Levitt. Solar Radiation in Saudi Arabia. Redstone Arsenal, Ala: US
Army Missile Command, 1993.

United States. US relations With Saudi Arabia: oil, Anxiety, and Ambivalence, Serial No. 110-133, September 18, 2007,
110-1 Hearing, *. S.l: s.n, 2008.

United States. US relations with Saudi Arabia: oil, Anxiety, and Ambivalence : Hearing Before the Subcommittee on the
Middle East and South Asia of the Committee on Foreign Afairs, House of representatives, one Hundred Tenth Congress,
First Session, September 18, 2007. Washington: US G.P.O., 2008.

United States. Critical Factors Afecting Saudi Arabias oil Decisions report to the Congress. [Washington]: US General
Accounting Oce, 1978.

Yaggi, Danielle Nicole. Te Eects of Alternative Energy on Saudi Arabia and the Implications for US National Security.
Tesis (M.S.)Missouri State University, 2008, 2008. <http://purl.missouristate.edu/etd/Yaggi.Danielle-2008-SP>.

Zind, Richard G., William F. Rentz, and A. Al-Sadoun. Saudi Arabia and the Global Financial and oil Market Crises.
Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2009.
183 Middle East Institute Viewpoints: Te Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1979-2009: Evolution of a Pivotal State www.mei.edu
Middle East Institute

S-ar putea să vă placă și